Adventuring in Impracticalities
by Dino Flavored Ramen
Summary: Ellie Macnair, is a daughter of one of the infamous Death Eaters. When she runs away to pursue her biggest dream, what problems will be overturned? Probably a lot more, now that she's befriended the Weasley twins and fallen for one of them. HBP and on.
1. Chapter 1: Hopeful Acceptances

Chapter 1: Hopeful Acceptances

The gangly red headed girl stood outside the abandoned, rundown building. The sign that read 'Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor' was faded and lopsided. The windows were broken and the door hung off its hinges. The girl let a sigh escape before pulling her wand from her back pocket.

With a wave the sign was removed and with another the windows were repaired. She then proceeded to reattach the door and enter through it. The paint was chipped all over the walls and the ceiling. The floor was cracked and the furniture over turned. Brandishing her wand once more, the girl was able to restore the room to its previous state.

From her pocket she pulled a miniature box that she expanded to its original size. From it she took out multiple candles of different sizes and shapes. Once lit, they floated to different places around the room, making it much brighter as the sun set.

Looking at her work, she said out loud, "Well, for the first day's work, it's pretty good." Her Irish accent was noticeably heavy. With one last glance, she extinguished the candles and made her way back to the virtually empty Diagon Alley. On her way out the door she solidly slammed into someone causing them both to fall out the door. She landed with an 'umph' on top of whoever this mystery person was.

"Hi," said an out of breath voice from below her. "If you don't mind, could you get off? Please?"

She quickly crawled off of the man beneath her. "S-sorry," she stuttered. "I'm _really _sorry." Giving him a hand up, she finally got a look at him. He was _also _a tall, gangly red head. When he got a look at her, they both chuckled at the same time.

"I'm Fred Weasley," he said, putting his hand out.

"Oh, I know. I'm Ellie Macnair," she said with a smile. Fred's own grin faded at her surname. "Yeah, dear old dad, real charmer he is," Ellie told him sarcastically. Fred still looked at her strangely, obviously suspicious. "Yeah, Death Eater's daughter, better run away. Well, actually that's what I did." Before his eyes, Ellie's appearance changed, her long, curly red hair was still long but straighter and black in color. Her body was shorter and her features more pronounced with high cheekbones and aristocratic features. Her green eyes were now grey and her freckles were gone.

"You're a Metamorphmagus!"

"Yeah, I ran away and changed my appearance, hopefully I stay hidden," she explained, changing back to her previous appearance.

"You look like a Weasley, you know?" Fred told her.

Ellie thoroughly blushed before saying, "Well, the Weasleys were sort of my inspiration." Fred smirked at her, obviously thinking highly of himself. "It's because you guys aren't exactly popular among my father's 'colleagues'."

"Oh, yeah, I'm _sure _that's the reason," he joked.

Finally remembering what had caused their conversation, Ellie asked, "So, what were you doing outside my door?"

"Oh, right. George and I saw the lights on, and we wondered whether Fortescue was back or if someone else was reopening it. So you're shop is it?"

"That it is," she answered proudly. "Just bought it from Florean Jr. who got it when his father disappeared. Not the best circumstances, but there are enough abandoned shops already, and the less of them closed down the better. Right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. So what are you opening?"

"My very own sweet shop, with a lot of my own creations. I know Hogsmeade has Honeydukes, but what does Diagon Alley have? It's always been my dream," she explained cheerfully.

"You remind me of a pair of twins who are both devilishly handsome and equally ambitious," he teased with a wink. She laughed before he asked her something that had been bothering him. "So you live upstairs or something?"

"Well not yet, it'll take about a week before I can make it livable, Fortescue just used it as storage so it needs to be changed around. It needs to be separated into rooms and a bathroom needs to be added. I'm staying in the Leaky Cauldron for now."

Fred thought for a moment before grabbing her wrist and running down the road, "Come on, I need to ask George something." Seeing as she didn't have much choice, Ellie followed Fred to a building only four away from her own shop. The windows were bright and colorful. The whole effect made Ellie quite dizzy if she was being honest.

"Wow," she exclaimed. "So this is Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"Yeah, and you haven't even seen it when it's open," said a voice from behind her. Ellie turned to see Fred except not in the same clothes as Fred, therefore making him George. His blue eyes were just slightly brighter than his twins. Looking at him, Ellie's stomach starting doing back flips. She just grinned at him like a fool.

"George, I need to have a word," Fred told him, gesturing for him to follow. They walked into the back room as Ellie moseyed around the shop. She found a bright pink section that held a large sign advertising Wonder Witch products. Ellie found the cutest little creatures in the box labeled Pygmy Puffs. "Aw," she cooed. "They're so cute. But Ajax wouldn't like one very much."

"Who's Ajax?" asked a voice from behind her, making Ellie jump. "Is that you're boyfriend?" It was George, Ellie learned upon inspection.

"Haha, very funny, Ajax is my pet Niffler," she answered.

"Didn't Kettleburn say they make bad pets?" questioned Fred as he joined them.

"Yeah, but I've had Ajax since he was born, he's been trained to only hunt treasure on command."

"That's pretty awesome. So, speaking of Kettleburn, did you go to Hogwarts?" asked George.

"Yeah, I was a year ahead of you in Ravenclaw. It was bitter sweet I suppose."

"How so?" wondered Fred.

"Well I missed your legendary escape, but I also missed being taught by the Toad," Ellie explained. "So why did you bring me here, Fred?"

"Well, I have decided, due to my chivalrous manner, that you cannot live in the Leaky Cauldron. You will stay in the spare room in our flat until yours is done. I just needed to consult my dear brother, who agrees entirely," he answered.

Ellie felt conflicted. She knew the twins were good people; all the Weasleys are good people. But she had just met them officially, but the little voice inside her head was saying _more time with George!_ She couldn't deny her feelings but she was still too confused by them.

"Sure," she answered. "But it is only for a week!" They nodded before escorting her to the Leaky Cauldron to get all of her stuff. She packed her one messenger bag and put Ajax in his basket before paying Tom for her previous night's stay.

Back at WWW, the twins showed her the room she'd be staying in. Ellie had to laugh. The walls were neon orange and all the furniture was neon blue. The two colors were blinding bright, but they had Fred-and-George written all over them. The furniture was also shaped oddly; the nightstand had three legs and the bed hung down from the ceiling like a swing.

"What's so funny?" they asked with identical amused expressions.

"It's just so... _you," _she explained with a giggle.

"Yes, yes it is," Fred agreed.

"Now come on, food time," chimed George. Ellie hadn't realized until that moment how hungry she was. "Fred, do we have any food?"

"Don't think so," he replied.

"My god, you are such guys. Let's go through your kitchen." Ellie lead the way to the small, unused kitchen at the end of the hall. After looking through all of their cabinets and the muggle refrigerator. "Wow, you were right. Do you guys ever eat?"

"Of course we do," they answered in unison. "We just eat at the Burrow and then bring stuff back." With a raised eyebrow, Ellie went back to the fridge, and took out the eggs and butter. She quickly found a pan and fried six eggs. "Bread?" Fred pointed to left most cabinet. Ellie pulled out a moldy and stale loaf of bread. With a quick charm the bread was edible once more. Another quick wave of her wand and the bread was toasted and buttered. Before she could even ask were the plates were, George brought them out along with silverware and set the table. Ellie served them all their food before saying, "Well, I guess it's dinner."

Fred and George seemed to disagree as they inhaled their meal in minutes. "I love you," Fred proclaimed and George just nodded in agreement, his mouth to full of food to form words.

With a small blush, Ellie muttered, "It's only eggs and toast."

"Yeah, but you could give our mum a run for her money, and she's the best cook we know," George told her, causing Ellie to blush more. "So does your shop open tomorrow?"

"No way. I need to redecorate and actually make some stuff to sell. Then there's the whole problem of me having no money because I ran away. And I need to name the shop."

"You ran away?" George asked, clearly puzzled.

"You didn't tell him?" Ellie questioned Fred. He just shook his head sheepishly. "My name is Ellie Macnair. My father is a Death Eater and a major bastard. I ran away because he wanted me to pursue the 'family business'. I refused point blank and there was a nasty row. I'm also a metamorphmagus and I usually look like this," Ellie explained, changing her appearance the same way she had for Fred. George just gaped at her. She nodded her head, agreeing that is was beyond bizarre, before changing back to her former appearance. Waving her wand to clean all of their plates, Ellie continued, "You guys are going to have to call me Ellie James, okay? I trust you guys to not rat me out to Death Eater's, I'd change my first name too, but they all know me as Eleanor." The twins nodded in understanding.

"But doesn't your father know you want to open a sweet shop?" asked George, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Ellie laughed, "He couldn't have cared less about what I wanted to do so he never bothered asking. The only person, who knows, other than you guys, is Professor Lupin who found me in Hogsmeade where I was working and staying at the Three Broomsticks. He was having some trouble and I gave him some advice. He returned the favor several times and it was really bizarre because he was once my teacher. But he's the reason I got the nerve to buy my shop."

"We see Remus quite often," George told her. "He's a member of the Or-" But George didn't finish on account of the elbow in his side courtesy of Fred.

"He's a member of the Order? As in of the Phoenix? Wait. So you guys are members too?" Ellie asked excitedly. "That is so cool," she said without an answer. Fred glared at George. Sure they wanted to trust Ellie, and if Remus did than that was a good sign, but they still couldn't be sure. "Do you think I could join?" she questioned hopefully.

"Erm, we'll ask Dumbledore," Fred answered before George could. George wanted to agree that she could join right then and there but, with a pointed look from Fred, he just nodded.

Ellie just grinned at them. She had heard all about the Order of the Phoenix from her father. The Death Eaters detested the lot of them, but they were Ellie's heroes. She knew they had to be careful when trusting her, but she would prove she was trust worthy.

"So you said you make your own sweets? Could you tell us about some?" George asked, trying to change the subject. Ellie got a wicked grin before running to her room and taking two things from her bag. Returning to the kitchen, she gave Fred a piece of taffy and George a piece of orange candy. They each ate them hesitantly. "George, you have to let that dissolve in your mouth and Fred you have to chew the taffy. That's the only way it works," Ellie explained. With a shrug of their shoulders the twins did as they were told.

Fred immediately shouted, "I don't think they'll be as cool as our inventions." He quickly covered his mouth with his hands, surprised that he had said such a thing out loud. "I'm suspicious of candy given to me by the daughter of a Death Eater," they heard a bit muffled. "George very obviously f-" but he didn't get to finish because George had also covered his mouth and it seemed four hands combined were enough to drown out the sound.

As George touched Fred's hand, the latter screamed. "You shocked me," Fred accused.

"No I didn't, look," George told him, poking him in the chest to prove his point. But this time he felt the static shock too. "That is wicked awesome," he said out loud, clearly understanding the candies effects. He too got a mischievous grin on his face as he continued to poke Fred rapidly. But when Fred he was safely hidden in the bathroom, George turned on the laughing Ellie who immediately sobered up and ran to her room, hiding behind the door. As George entered slowly, she tackled him from behind, both tumbling onto the bed. George began to poke her mercilessly, each shock causing her to jump. And once the effects had worn off, George switched to tickling her.

The two lay on Ellie's bed laughing their heads off for ten solid minutes before Fred thought it safe to come out of his shelter. Just seeing the two laughing people made Fred join in. They were clutching their sides and leaning against each other, unable to stop their fit. Fred stood in the doorway, chuckling at how utterly mad they looked.

When they had finally calmed down, Ellie lay on her bed in the middle of the twins, all of them lost in their thoughts, each thinking along the same lines. Fred was relieved he hadn't finished his sentence from before and spilled that George fancied Ellie. George was thinking the exact same thing but also about what Ellie would have done if he had said it. The worst ended with her running away, never to be heard from again. The least life altering consisted of her just laughing it off. The best in George's opinion was how they took a walk around Diagon Alley where Ellie admitted to feeling the same thing. That situation ended with a very satisfying snog session. George quickly shook his head, returning to earth.

Ellie's thoughts consisted of things that could have been the end of Fred's sentence. Her favorite was actually the truth, _George very obviously fancies Ellie. _

George's question of, "So what did you give us?" broke her from her thoughts.

"Well Fred had some Tattle-Tale-Taffy, it comes in severities, and the one he ate was low causing him to spew three things he had been thinking. And you had a Static-Shock-Sucker which makes it possible for you to shock people with out having to actually create it."

"You're quite brilliant," George concluded.

"Well I'm going to call it a night, coming George?" Fred said, standing up. "Night Ellie," he called from the doorway.

"I better get to sleep too," George said to Ellie. She nodded as he stood up. "Good night." He walked to the door where he paused before turning suddenly; he then gave Ellie a fleeting hug and all but ran to his room. Ellie chuckled with a goofy grin on her face. She put on pajamas before getting into her bed, Ajax leaving the comfort of his basket for the first time to lie next to her. Her last conscious thought was, _Should be interesting, living in the same flat as the infamous Weasley Twins._

**Author's Note: So this is my new story! Please review! I hope you like it. So some information to know, Ellie is a year older than the twins and her birthday is April 12th, so in this chapter she is 19 and the twins are 18. This chapter takes place in the end of August after everyone visits WWW in Half-Blood Prince. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Magically Livable

Chapter 2: Magically Livable

A week had passed since Ellie moved in with the twins. She was working for them with Verity in Weasley Wizard's Wheezes. The twins had offered her the job when her lack of funds became her major obstacle.

Ellie had been severely confused by her feelings for George the entire time. She noticed things that made her hopeful of him returning the same feelings. He would volunteer to help out where ever she happened to be working in the shop. George even seemed more interested in learning about her, no matter how evasive she tried to be.

Neither of the twins had mentioned anything about the Order and Ellie couldn't deny that she felt anxious. But she hid it the best she could. She knew for certain that they couldn't trust her. She suspected they were biding their time, looking for a glimpse of a Dark Mark or a meeting between her and some shady characters.

Everything had fallen into something of a routine, wake up, get dressed, and cook breakfast for the twins. Work until two in the afternoon, eat lunch, and go back down until eight. Ellie was working every chance she got, for the twins had offered her a loan but she refused. So everything was going in a tedious, predictable manner until one night.

_"Eleanor! You dare embarrass me in front of the Dark Lord! Foolish girl, this is the end of your disgraceful behavior," my father screamed. He was beyond furious. He drew his wand and pointed it at my heart. "You are no daughter of mine," he whispered cruelly. I knew what was coming, I thought quickly and mustered up all my strength. I wandlessly stunned him before locking him in a broom cupboard. I ran to my room packing a bag carelessly and grabbing my wand. With a stroke of brilliance, I rummaged in my father's drawers for the hundred galleons he always kept. A noisy explosion from downstairs signaled my father's wakening. I stormed out the back door, running to the end of our property before finally apparating away._

Ellie awoke with a start, sitting up quickly she slammed into one of the twins. Her head in one hand and her shoulder in the other, Ellie glared at George, "Good morning to you too George." He grinned sheepishly at her from the floor, his own forehead clutched tightly.

"How can you tell us apart?" Fred asked from the door.

"Why are you holding your shoulder?" George asked at the same time.

"That's not creepy at all," she said sarcastically. They both shrugged as if to say it's just something that happens, often. "I am holding my shoulder because it hurts, as does my head, thank you."

"What about Fred's question?" George prodded, after she didn't answer.

Blushing, Ellie answered, "George's eyes are a brighter blue." That was only one of the two reasons she had, truthfully. The other was very embarrassing to say the least. When she looked at George her stomach instantly filled with butterflies and she had the urge to grin like an idiot. She had noticed the difference over the last few days, although it was more obvious when he was just sprung on her so early in the morning.

"Then why are you blushing?" George asked.

"Why does your shoulder hurt?" Fred asked, again at the same time.

"No more questions!" Ellie shouted. "I'm going to take a shower!" She grabbed some clothes from her bag before sprinting to the bathroom. Quickly locking the door, she slid down to sit on the floor. The reason she wouldn't answer why she had blushed was obvious. But the reason why her shoulder hurt was a secret between herself and Remus Lupin. Honestly, he had done more than just give her advice. He had probably saved her life. With one last look at the ominous scar on her shoulder, Ellie got into the shower.

She stepped into the kitchen a half hour later feeling refreshed and ready to get to work on her shop. Upon her entrance, however, she realized the twins were making themselves scarce. Walking back to her room, she could hear whispering from inside.

"Hurry up, she'll be back soon!" one of the twins whispered urgently.

"Sorry, I don't even know what we're looking for, Fred!" George argued at a similar volume. "We shouldn't even be doing this!"

"It's the only way we can find out whether she's trustworthy," Fred told him exasperatedly. "You're just worried she'll be mad at you, lover boy." _Lover boy? _Ellie thought to herself, _what does Fred mean by that?_

"I resent that!" George shouted. Ellie took this as her cue.

"Well, I resent you guys not trusting me." She put her stuff back in her bag before picking up Ajax and his basket. "Goodbye," she said coldly. Without another glance, she made her way back to her own shop. She walked up to her so called flat and put her stuff down. "Ugh, Ajax, I'm a git aren't I? They have every reason to not trust me!" With one last sigh, she made her way to Flourish and Blotts.

"Excuse me," she addressed the elderly woman behind the counter politely. "I need a couple books on architectural and home remodeling spells. Where could I find them?" With a pleasant smile, the woman pointed to a shelf near the shop's window. "Thank you." Ellie walked over to the shelf, scanning the various titles. From the corner of her eye, she saw a George enter the shop. Even at a glance her stomach started flipping. She quickly hid behind a shelf. He walked up to the woman and asked her a question. To Ellie's horror, the woman pointed to the spot where Ellie had been directed.

Thinking quickly she changed her appearance. She was now a young, blonde boy. Walking to the door, someone tapped on the shoulder. Already knowing whom it was, she turned to meet the amused grin of George Weasley. "Hello, have you seen a young red haired girl? Tall, skinny, and very pretty?"

Blushing immensely, although entirely pleased, she answered, "Can't say that I have."

George's grin grew as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You still sound the same Ellie."

"Damn," she sighed dejectedly. She returned her appearance to its previous state before looking up at George, for he was still considerably taller. Without thinking, she launched at him. "Can you forgive me?" she murmured quietly into his chest.

"Well I don't know," he started, jokingly. "It's a tad hard to forgive you for my and my brother's foolishness and our prat-like prying. It'll take some thinking on my part." Getting more serious, he asked, "Can you forgive us?" She nodded against him immediately.

They just stood there in the doorway for several more minutes before someone cleared their throat. Both looked up to see a highly amused Fred smirking at them. "Thanks so much for letting me know you found her, dear brother. But if you love birds don't mind, you're blocking traffic." Blushing madly, Ellie let go of George, but he kept his arm around her waist.

"Oops," George said, not sounding at all sorry. "But, I was enjoying not having to share her. You will be happy to know she's forgiven us though." Fred smiled at Ellie before walking over to her and picking her up. She screamed, but he paid no notice.

"She's mine now," he teased his brother.

"We'll see about that," George called after him. Pulling out his wand, he wordlessly levitated Ellie to him. "I win."

"As fun as this has been," Ellie said sarcastically. "May I get down?" George nodded and set her on her feet. "Now come on, I need books." Returning to the section she had been searching in, Ellie pulled out three promising books.

With a raised eyebrow, George asked skeptically, "_Architecture Spells For the Unspecialized Witch_?_ Making What You Need Out Of Stuff You Don't: The Economical Way of Remodeling_?_ Magically Livable: A Guide to Stuff You Need to Make Your Space Livable Magically_? I'm guessing your starting work on your flat?" Ellie grinned at him and nodded. She was determined to make her flat livable before opening her shop.

"And you guys are going to help!"

Deciding Verity could handle the shop on a Thursday, they followed Ellie out the door. An hour later they returned to Ellie's shop with a bag full of various things in vast quantities. Ellie set to work almost immediately.

The first step was to separate the large space into rooms. She divided it into two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, a library, and a room to make her sweets. She also added a storage room to the shop downstairs.

Removing several pieces of rubbish from the bag, Ellie set to work. When she was finally done over three hours later, her flat was just what she had pictured. Her room was a very light blue, but her furniture and such were light grey. It was very peaceful, lit mostly by candles. The second bedroom looked just like her room at the twins' flat except with two beds.

Two armchairs and a couch, all situated around a cozy fireplace, occupied her living room. It was very reminiscent of the Hogwarts' common rooms. Her kitchen was simple, having the basic tools for cooking. It was a colorful orange color, giving it a very happy feel.

The library was a small square room with wall-to-wall bookcases. They were even on the back of the door. Although, the only space currently occupied was by the three books Ellie had purchased that morning.

Ellie's workroom was her pride and joy. The walls were charmed to look like a bright, sunny day. There was a sun and clouds that floated across the walls. At night, a full moon and hundreds of stars still brightly lit the room. The floor felt like soft grass. In the middle were three large tables. Four cauldrons for potion making occupied one. Another was empty but would be used for the other steps of making Ellie's products. The last table was empty except for a large leather book. On the cover it read, 'Ellie's Books of Wondrous Ideas'.

"So is that your idea book?" Fred asked as they sat exhaustedly in her living room.

"Yeah, it was sort of a good luck gift from Professor Lupin."

"So does he know you got a shop?"

"No, I hadn't seen him in about a week when I met Florean Jr. in The Three Broomsticks. It was a chance I kind of had to jump on. I had to pay him half the money to my name right on the spot and it was only a tenth. I have three months to get him the rest. Four hundred and fifty galleons is a lot of money."

"So you have about one hundred galleons now?" George asked. Ellie nodded sadly. "Well if you need help, you've got us." Fred nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys. That means a lot, but I've already said I can't accept it."

"It's getting late, George. We better go," Fred said as it was nearing eleven,

"You guys could stay here," Ellie suggested shyly. "That's sort of what the extra room is for."

"Well, Fred, as gentlemen, we can't very well leave this damsel to fend for herself, can we?"

"No George, it would be ghastly for out reputation as dashing, noble, heroes to crumble due to one careless decision to leave a young lady alone. We really have no choice in staying." With a wave of his wand, he and George were both in matching, plaid pajamas; one bore an F and the other a G.

"You're so very considerate," Ellie teased. "And plaid most definitely suits you."

They smirked before saying in unison, "Everything suits us, love."

Ellie rolled her eyes before saying, "Well, I'm off to bed. If you need anything, you can get it yourself." She gave each twin a kiss on the cheek "That's for helping me out today and yesterday too."

Before she closed her door she distinctly heard one say, "See, I told you she loves us."

"Well, of course she does, we're just too adorable," the other replied. Ellie laughed at the duo before crawling, exhausted into bed.

**A/N: So there is chapter two! Hope you enjoy, please please review! **


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting Heroes

**Chapter 3: Meeting Heroes**

It had been a month since Ellie had moved into her flat. She was still working for the twins, but was steadily making enough money. She had made enough sweets to get her shop but it was still without a name.

Every night she and the twins had dinner, alternating between flats. They fast became her best friends. She had met several of their other friends too. Such as Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Lee had been by several times for he was helping the twins with the shop. Ellie had a lot of fun with Lee; she had no trouble figuring out why he was the twins' closest friend.

As she finished cooking at the twins' flat, Ellie was asked something she was conflicted about. "Do you want to come for dinner at the Burrow tomorrow?" George asked her.

She froze and turned towards him slowly, eyes wide. "The burrow? As in your house?" He nodded his confirmation. Screaming in what they assumed was excitement, Ellie launched at George for a hug. "That is so cool!" she screeched excitedly. "I get to go to the Burrow! I've heard a lot about the Burrow. 'Home of the biggest lot of blood traitors you ever did see,' that's what my dad said. But is it really okay? I mean with your parents."

"Sure it is. Mum is all about the believing in people thing," Fred said. Ellie nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. She sat down and ate her food in silence.

"What's wrong Ellie?" George asked when they were finished.

"What if they don't like me? What if they decide I'm not worth the risk?" she said quietly.

"Well, then you still have us," Fred tried to assure her. George slapped him upside the head with a look that clearly said _not helping_.

"You don't get it, Fred," Ellie explained. "You and your family, you guys are my heroes. I would hear about you guys from my father's angry rants and it gave me hope. You were my inspiration to get out, to stay strong." Ellie sat down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Fred and George sat on either side of her. She put her head on George's shoulder.

"But, Ellie, you don't have any reason to worry," George told her soothingly. "You're used to people who have set beliefs that refuse to change. We, however, learn to accept people; it's what we're good at. Remus is a werewolf, and he's trusted. Sirius Black is a wrongfully convicted, escaped convict, who comes from one of the worst pure-blooded families out there." Ellie nodded, calming down just a little bit.

"What time is dinner?" she asked, jokingly. It helped to lighten the mood quite a bit.

"You staying here, Ellie?" Fred asked. She nodded as if it were obvious. "Just checking," he laughed.

She said goodnight to the twins and headed to bed.

Ellie woke up in a cold sweat late that night. After her usual nightmare of the night she left, it had been followed by visions of the Weasleys rejecting and shunning her. At first it was Mr and Mrs Weasley, and their children followed them. But last, and the reason she had woken up terrified, were the twins. They looked disgusted and slammed the door in her face.

Deciding she would be unable to fall back asleep, Ellie walked from her room to the kitchen quietly. She made herself a cup of hot chocolate and walked into the living room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw one of the twins sitting on the couch. She debated running back to her room, but decided to stay and took a seat next to the twin. He was dozing off to sleep, his head lolling against his shoulder. His own cup of hot chocolate was tipping dangerously.

It was George. Fred had unresolved issues with hot chocolate. "George," Ellie whispered. She shook his shoulder and he shot up, throwing his drink all over her.

He stared her, somewhere between amusement, feeling sorry, and fear that she would hurt him. Glaring at him, she took out her wand to clean herself up.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just be glad it was cold." George sat back down on the couch next to her. "So why are you awake?" she asked him.

"I couldn't fall asleep, decided hot chocolate might help," he answered. "Why are you awake?"

"Nightmare," Ellie mumbled. George heard her but had no idea what to do so he put his arm around her. _Comfort was a good idea, right? _he asked himself. She leaned her head on his shoulder for the second time that night and felt better almost instantly.

"What was the nightmare?" Ellie did not give him an answer and instead looked anywhere but at him. "Was it about dinner at the Burrow?" She nodded mutely. "You really don't have any reason to worry."

"It wasn't scary," she started. "Until you and Fred decided not to speak with me ever again." She blinked back tears trying to hide how much it scared her.

"Ellie, don't cry," he soothed, seeing right through her. "We wouldn't do that. Why won't you believe us?"

"I only ever had one friend," she said so quietly it was almost inaudible. She was no longer holding back her tears. "No one else would trust me enough. It was because I was the daughter of a Death Eater. They made fun of me for being a Metamorphmagus. Hogwarts was absolutely horrid for me. It feels like you're too good to be true."

She looked him in the eyes and saw that he was on the verge of saying something. "EllieIfancyyou," he mumbled.

"What?" she asked, not catching a single word.

"You don't have to worry about me leaving you. Or Fred. And it's because I believe I fancy you," he said, growing steadily quieter. This time however Ellie heard every word.

She stared at him, completely stunned. "Well, I mean, if you don't. Then, I get, it's perfectly understandable," he babbled. She kissed him softly, making him stop talking.

"I fancy you too," she told him with a small smile. He began to grin. He stood and picked her up, swinging her around like a little kid. She started laughing uncontrollably.

When he finally put her down, they laid on the couch together. They talked about nothing in particular, sharing small kisses every now and again. Some time later they both fell asleep, having no trouble this time.

Ellie woke up the next morning to laughter. She opened her eyes, blinded by something red. Pushing it from her eyes, she realized it was George's hair and the laughter came from Fred in the corner. She raised her eyebrows at him but he could not have cared less.

Noticing that her lungs were having trouble getting air, Ellie realized that George was curled up in a ball, lying on her stomach. She now realized why Fred was laughing. "Oh shut up," she yelled at him. She then proceeded to poke George awake. However, all that happened was he rolled over to lie more fully on her. "Oh god," she sighed. "George!" she yelled. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. She rather liked his smile and momentarily smiled back. "Air," she said.

"What about it?" he asked confusedly.

"My lungs would like some." When he still looked perplexed, she asked, "Could you get off?" Nodding quickly, George rolled of the edge of the couch. Breathing deeply, she said, "Thank you." When no response came, she looked to the floor to find George asleep once again.

"Lazy git," she heard Fred whispered.

Ellie grinned at him before saying happily, "But he's my lazy git." Fred just rolled his eyes before chucking a pillow at George's head and reminding him they had to work.

"I think I'm going to go to my shop and set everything up for the opening," she told them. They both nodded and she went and got her bag. "Bye guys," she said, giving George a kiss.

Ellie got to work making shelves and such for the shop. The shop's interior was all different colors. The walls were painted in different sized squares of hundreds of colors. The signs advertising the sweets were also bright and multi-colored. She brought down the sweets she had already made, placing them in their various places. At three o'clock, two hours before they were due at the Burrow, Ellie finished up to get ready. She took a quick shower and dressed in a casual dress. George had told her she could wear whatever she pleased, but she preferred to look nice. She morphed her hair to the Weasley-red that she preferred but made it shorter than usual and straighter.

Collecting the cookies she had made, Ellie left for the twins' shop. Finding them waiting for her outside she apparated with George, followed by Fred. Ellie looked up at the building in wonderment. It had many levels and on the whole it was slightly lopsided. She grinned at the sight. Grabbing George's hand and telling Fred to go ahead, she asked, "So what am I?"

"Pardon?" George questioned, slightly amused.

"Am I your friend, employee, or girlfriend?" she clarified, adding the last suggestion quietly. George kissed her very slightly.

"That's my answer," he said with a grin. When she still looked confused, he added, "My girlfriend. If you want to be, that is." She nodded with her own grin, hugging him quickly.

Ellie looked to the Burrow, swallowing nervously. "Oh come on, you look great and you brought cookies. They'll love you, show some Gryffindor courage."

"I'm a Ravenclaw," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Well show some Ravenclaw logic, I suppose." George grabbed her hand and led her into kitchen.

"Hi mum," he greeted a short, plump, red headed woman with a kiss on the cheek. "This is Ellie Macnair, my girlfriend." Mrs Weasley was shocked for a moment before she regained her composure and hugged Ellie tightly.

"Hello, dear. It's so good to meet you. I'm Molly. That's my husband Arthur," she pointed to a tall, balding man who smiled warmly. "Our eldest son Bill," she pointed to a handsome man with long hair who waved. "And his fiancé Fleur," Mrs Weasley finished with a forced smile as she pointed to a very beautiful blonde woman who smiled politely.

Ellie just stood, mouth agape. Her hair was changing color rapidly, something that happened when she was very nervous. "I think she's star struck," Fred whispered to Bill. George chuckled before giving her a small push.

"Hello," she said quietly, blushing wildly. "I-I made cookies," she handed Mrs Weasley the box in her hand. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief when she took them with a friendly thank you and Bill whispered to George, "I approve!"

Ellie sat down in between the twins, helping herself to some of Mrs Weasley's wonderful food. "This is amazing Mrs Weasley," she complimented.

"Why thank you," she beamed. "But please do call me Molly."

"So Ellie," Mr Weasley addressed her. "Your last name is Macnair?" She grimaced; they had gotten to the hard part already.

"Sadly, it is, Sir," she answered. "And yes my dad is Walden Macnair, infamous git and Death Eater." Mr Weasley nodded slowly but Fred snorted. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"Your dad's name is Walden?" he asked, barley containing his laughter. In unison, the whole table rolled their eyes at him. Just as they got back to eating, there was a knock on the door. Molly got up and answered it. Ellie could not see who it was, but everyone else who did simply went back to his or her food.

"So sorry I'm late Molly," the visitor said in a familiar voice. "I got called into the Ministry."

"That's quite alright, Remus," Mrs Weasley answered. As she moved away from the door, Remus Lupin walked into the room, smiling at everyone. Ellie shrieked excitedly before jumping out of her seat.

"Professor!" she yelled. Ellie hugged him tightly and he patted her head fondly.

"Hello, Ellie," he greeted. She beamed up at him. "What brings you to the Burrow?"

Ellie blushed and mumbled something, but all Remus got was, "George boyfriend."

He looked to George for confirmation, and he nodded happily. "Oh, well then," Remus said, completely lost for words. "I'll comment on that when I think of something." Everyone laughed as he and Ellie took their seats.

"Back to what I was speaking about, Ellie," Mr Weasley began. "How is it we can trust you? Or, more importantly, how did you get to where you are now?"

"Well, Sir, it started about a week or so after I had graduated, a year before the twins that is. It was just subtle hints for almost two years, nothing of consequence. I knew what was coming but I decided to face it when I no longer had a choice. One night I was told to wear my best clothes and such. So, we apparated to Malfoy Manor and I should have known then," Ellie was now talking with a far off look on her face. "It looked like another party, but then I notice most of the adults were just barely covering up their nervousness. Around midnight, Voldemort walks into the room. I wanted to run, but obviously that wasn't smart. He reeled off several names and I was one of them. We all stood in a line and he talked to us one at a time.

"'Eleanor Macnair?' he asked. I ignored him and looked away. He didn't like that. So he tortured me, until I looked him in the eyes and said yes. When I, as he said 'dared look him directly in the eye', he tortured me again. I was stubborn and knew what was coming. But I had no plans of becoming a Death Eater, I would have happily died instead, but when he threatened to do just that, my father intervened," she was now talking very low and crying all the while.

"I was so relieved. I thought he actually cared. But then that bastard," she snarled the last word. "Requested to do it himself. Old Voldemort lapped that up. He grabbed my arm and we apparated home. He wasn't very happy, not in the least. Some life saving wandless stunning later and I was darting around to collect my belongings. I apparated to Hogsmeade where I collapsed because of an injury he had inflicted upon. I woke up an hour later in a room at the Three Broomsticks with Madam Rosmerta and Professor Lupin."

As she finished her tale, she was smiling but still crying. "Ellie can I have a word?" Remus asked. She nodded and followed him into the living room. "Let me see your shoulder," he said quietly. She took off her sweater and the square shaped scar was a glaring red against her pale skin. Remus did a quick charm before saying, "It hasn't done any damage. It should remain just a scar." She nodded, still not speaking. "So you and George, eh?" he asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Ellie nodded again this time with a smile. "Well, we better go back in," Remus said. They both walked back into the kitchen. However, there was another person in the room now.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Ellie said, confused by his presence.

"Ah, Eleanor, perfect timing. I hear you'd like to join the Order of the Phoenix."

**Author's Note: Hello! So here is chapter three, yay! I would very much LOVE some reviews. Just incase you were wondering. :)**

**The next chapter should be lots of fun. But I make no promises about when I'll have it. Freshman year, bleh.**

**Well, thanks for reading and remember, Reviews=Oodles of happiness. OODLES! :D**

**~Dino Flavored Ramen  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Cookie Jar Similes

Chapter 4: Cookie Jar Similes

"Yeah. I mean, yes Professor. I mean, whoa," Ellie babbled. Everyone looked at her, amusement clear on his or her faces. Ellie blushed as she slowed her jumbled words.

"I must say that your acceptance must be voted on. I cannot allow someone such as you to enter without caution. Now, as your former headmaster, I trust you completely, but the Order is essentially a team," Dumbledore explained.

"Of course, Sir. I understand," Ellie answered, and she meant it too. "I'll prove myself."

"There is a meeting tomorrow night. I'll leave it up to Mr and Mr Weasley to escort you. See you all then," he told them all before swiftly exiting the Burrow.

"That was odd," George commented. Everyone nodded his or her heads, staring at the door he had exited through.

They all took their seats again and resumed eating. Remus asked, "Ellie, how's the shop coming along?"

She immediately brightened at the subject topic. "Amazing," she told him excitedly. "I'm renting Florean Fortescue's building. There's a flat upstairs and plenty of space for my work to be done. The actual shop is all set. It's only missing a name. I can't believe I'm so close to running my own shop!"

"What kind of shop?" Bill wondered.

"Oh! It's a sweet shop. I make all my own products," Ellie gushed, not hiding her pride.

Later that night, Ellie and the twins sat in her flat, talking about the coming Order meeting. "There are very few people who wouldn't give you a chance," Fred decided after minutes of thinking.

"Yeah. Mad-Eye is a five star skeptic and Hestia is a very careful person. But you have the Weasleys, Remus, Dung, Tonks, and Kingsley. They'll all vote for you. Dung will follow us and Kingsley is just very smart. Tonks will probably just think you're interesting," George elaborated. Ellie nodded nervously. She was freaking out on the inside. Every possible scenario ran through her head, well only the bad ones.

"The only thing you need to worry about, little Ellie, is naming your shop," Fred told her. She smiled at him, realizing she couldn't be scared with them around. It just wasn't possible.

"Yeah, you're right. You wouldn't happen to have any ideas would you?" she asked hopefully. They grinned at her and laughed as she sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll have to think of something."

"Well I'm off to bed," Fred announced. "George, you keep your hands to yourself," he shouted with all seriousness. Ellie and George both blushed. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours!

"I-I better go too," George said, still blushing. He gave Ellie a kiss on the cheek and Fred a smack on the head before rushing to his and Fred's room.

"Thanks, Fred. That was really helpful."

"Oh, Ellie, the two of you need to take it slow. I'm going to take on the role of father of the girl and best mate of the boy all at once!"

"Of course you will. Well, I'm going to stay up a while longer, g'night." He gave her a hug before leaving to his room as well. Sighing to herself, Ellie sat at the kitchen table and conjured a sheet of parchment, a quill, and some ink. "Think, Ellie, think," she whispered. It was hours of tedious brain wracking. Every now and then she would write down an idea, tweak it, and finally cross it out in annoyance. She was just dosing off when her head, formerly resting on her palm, slipped onto the table. The loud smack that resounded was nothing compared to Ellie's scream. She ran to the twins' room yelling, "Fred, George, I got it!"

She opened the door to find two very disoriented red heads rolling out of bed. "I thought of a name!" she told them excitedly.

Yawning loudly, Fred asked, "Well, what is it?"

"Oh, right. It's Conspicuous Confections!"

With a blank look on his face, George said, "Um, Ellie, could you speak English?"

"I was you numbskull! Conspicuous means something that stands out and confections is just another word for sweets. It makes sense because I happen to have a very colorful sweet shop!"

"That's really great, Ellie. We'll be a lot more excited tomorrow morning, okay? Tell us again when we're awake," George, explained. Ellie nodded dejectedly. After a quick goodnight, Ellie retreated to her invention room. On the last table, her idea book sat untouched. She turned to the first page where she wrote 'Conspicuous Confections' in lopsided, colorful letters. She then turned to another clean page and began copying down her creations and their ingredients from memory. There were Flavor Changing Lollipops, Butterbeer Lollipops, Tattle-Tale Taffy, Chameleon Cotton Candy, Never Melt Ice Cream, and Edible Notes. There were many more that she had to copy down and even more to create.

She finished just as the sun came up. Her last thought before her head rested gently on the worktable was of the Order meeting later that day.

The nudging of her shoulder was interrupting a very pleasant dream involving a star-lit night, a beautiful wooded path, and George looking very handsome. "Nuhh, stop it," she groaned.

"Come on Ellie, time to wake up," George whispered. _Well a real George beats dream George_, Ellie thought. She opened her eyes a crack to see the light blue eyes she had come to love.

George had reached down to kiss her good morning when Fred exploded through the door, "I don't think so Mister!" Fred shouted as he tackled George to the floor. Ellie physically cringed in sympathy.

"Hullo to you too Fred," Ellie laughed. "You're still breathing, right George?" A muffled conformation on George's status reassured her. "That's good. So, who's making breakfast?" Fred stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "Right. Never trust a Weasley man in the kitchen, unless he's Charlie or under intense surveillance. Charlie's the one with the dragons, right?"

"Yep, good old rough, tough, and pastry making Charlie," Fred laughed. When he finished speaking, he shouted in shock and pain. "Ow! George, did you bite me?"

"No," George said, pretending to be offended. Ellie laughed at the duo.

"You guys are ridiculous! But, back to important matters, I'm hungry!"

"Well, considering the meeting is at five o'clock, it's currently three o'clock, and you're still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, you have other worries right now."

Ellie stared at them with wide eyes before dashing into her room, grabbing clothes, and dashing back out to the bathroom. Showering quickly, Ellie got dressed just as fast and morphed her hair so it was dry and in bright yellow curls. She had been going for her usual red but it didn't work quite right.

"What time is it?" she asked when she was done.

"It's half past four. We could get going so you could meet everyone," George proposed. Ellie nodded enthusiastically and they dissaparated from outside her flat.

She stared at the street, completely lined with similarly styled buildings. As Ellie looked around curiously, she vaguely realized number twelve was missing. "Memorize this," Fred said, handing her a small piece of paper._ The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix maybe found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. _She handed it back to him and as the small piece of paper burst into flames, number twelve appeared in its place between eleven and thirteen.

The twins lead the way as Ellie hesitantly followed after. They both put their fingers to their lips, signaling her to be quiet. She nodded in understanding before they all entered the house. One by one they walked down a narrow hallway, through a door, and down a set of stairs. At the bottom, George let her know she could make noise now.

The twins pushed her through a door and she stumbled into a kitchen. The hustle and bustle stopped as she looked around. All eyes were on her, all of them shocked. She looked to the twins for answers and they pointed to their heads. _Right, my hair is yellow,_ she thought. "Hullo everyone," she greeted. Most ignored her, some waved, and others continued to stare.

In the room, there were several people. Ellie recognized the Weasleys from dinner and an extra red head, whom she presumed was Charlie. There was a small woman with black hair casting wary glances and a tall, serious looking bald man who was speaking with Bill. Remus was sitting in the corner with a book as he received forlorn expressions from a very pretty young woman who looked tired and stressed out. Recognition dawned on Ellie's face and she approached the woman, "Hullo, I'm Ellie," she introduced herself.

"Oh, right, I'm Tonks," she answered, snapping back to reality. "It's nice to meet you."

"I've heard you're a metamorphmagus. So am I," Ellie continued.

"My morphing isn't exactly at its best I'm afraid," Tonks replied sadly.

"Oh, don't worry. My morphing stopped responding for about a year after I graduated. It was because I was scared. Not just any old scared either. Yours is different, but don't be worried. Oh, and he'll come around eventually," Ellie rambled on as a small smile crept across Tonks' face.

Charlie approached Ellie and she extended her hand, "Hullo, I'm Ellie."

Instead of shaking her hand, he kissed it. "It's very nice to meet you," he said with a smirk.

She blushed as George came and pulled her towards him. "Sorry, dear brother, this ones taken," George teased. Charlie stuck his tongue out at him. Ellie and George both laughed.

"Who are they?" Ellie asked pointing to the remaining two people.

"Oh, that's Hestia Jones and Kingsley Shacklebolt," he pointed to each as he said their names.

Ellie was walking towards Remus when three more people entered the kitchen. Ellie knew all three men: Dumbledore, Mad Eye Moody, and Severus Snape. She glared at the Potions master and he returned the gesture.

As the meeting was called to order, several more people appeared through the door. There was Professor McGonagall, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Giggle, Sturgis Podmore, and Emmeline Vance. Fred named the people whom Ellie had not known.

"The first matter which must be addressed is Miss Ellie Macnair. She has an interesting story you all need to hear," Dumbledore explained to everyone. Ellie tried to stand tall and look brave but she was quite fearful. She told her story again, not getting emotional this time.

"I'm not proud of my family or the fact that I was too scared to run sooner, but I want to help. I _need_ to help," she concluded.

Everyone was staring at her with blank expressions. "I don't trust her," sneered Severus Snape.

"You're one to talk, _Professor_," Ellie growled in response. "I have never been, nor will I ever be a Death Eater. You have no right to call me distrustful when many people have offered you the same courtesy."

"I approve," Remus said with a smile.

"Me too," said Charlie. "Though I am shocked she's dating George." Ellie laughed at George's scowl. The other Weasleys agreed as well, even if Fred made a commotion over being indecisive.

"I'm in too," said Tonks, looking a little more cheerful now.

"I trust her," said the deep voice of Kingsley.

"Good student, good person. I trust her as well," McGonagall vouched with a genuine smile.

There was an encore of yeses from Sturgis, Elphias, Dedalus, and Emmeline. Showing up very late, was Mundungus Fletcher who simple voted, "Whatever Fred chose." Most people rolled their eyes at him.

"I don't trust her, but I do trust you all, so I vote yes as well," Hestia decided.

"No," Mad Eye stated simply.

"And I vote yes, making the tally eighteen to two," Dumbledore said. "Congratulations, Miss Macnair, and welcome to the Order of the Phoenix." There was a short process of joining. Dumbledore recited the rules and guidelines of the Order and Ellie agreed to them with a contract spell.

"Now that that is out of the way, let us commence with the meeting," Dumbledore began. "Our first topic is very important, it involves a newly marked Death Eater. One who is most likely the youngest to be marked and has been given a vital mission. I have it on good authority that Voldemort has no intent for him to succeed. The mission is classified. I will not tell you what it entails for you will surely argue." Everyone was looking at him strangely. It was evident to Ellie that Dumbledore's behavior was peculiar. He was most likely very honest with them at all times.

Ellie was trying to not look guilty. She felt like a small child, caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She knew what he was talking about. Her father had been very angry after a meeting only two days before she left. Voldemort was assigning Draco Malfoy with a mission: to murder Dumbledore.

Snape was glaring at her, but she kept her expression passive. He probably suspected she knew. It didn't really matter; she would have to tell Dumbledore either way.

As the meeting was adjourned, Ellie approached Dumbledore. "Professor, may I speak with you?"

"Why of course, my dear," Dumbledore said cheerfully. He led her out of the kitchen and into a small parlor. "What is troubling you?"

"I know about Draco," she answered quietly."

"I assumed nothing less," Dumbledore said, still smiling. "But I must ask you not to say anything to anybody."

"Of course Sir, but how are you going to stop him?"

"I'm not," he said seriously. Before apparating, he waved goodbye and for the first time Ellie noticed his hand, black and disfigured, like it was dead. She didn't like it, and she didn't know what he was thinking, but with thoughts of Dumbledore's hand she returned to the kitchen.

**Author's Note: Um. Hello. I know you all probably hate me. I promised it would take a week and it's been three. But here it is! And it's pretty long too! But anyways. I'm going to make Tonks cheerful. So pretty soon, other than the major plot of HBP, it'll probably be AU. Not a lot. But some of the side details will be changed. Anywho. Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Dresses Galore, Pancakes Too

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do own Ellie and all of her wonder. :D**

Chapter 5: Dresses Galore, Pancakes Too

Ellie woke up the next morning, sandwiched between the twins. They had spent the night at Grimmauld Place and Ellie, the only member currently without a room, had opted to stay with the twins in their room.

She attempted to make her way out of the bed without disturbing them, but just as she was home free, one of the twins grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall to the floor. Her high-pitched shriek had the remaining twin awake and several Order members rushing in, wands at the ready.

The evil twin, Fred, was laughing loudly, while Ellie was still lying on the floor. George, being the good-hearted one, not to mention her boyfriend, picked her up and smacked Fred to defend her honor. "What is going on?" asked Remus from the door, a look of complete confusion on his face.

"Fred tripped me and George helped me up," Ellie said simply. Most of the occupants of the door way left, except for Tonks. "Hiya Tonks!" Ellie greeted.

"Hullo Ellie, good morning George. Fred you're really very mean, you know that?" He nodded proudly; his brother simply rolled his eyes. "Anywho, Ellie, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Yeah, sounds like fun!"

"When are we leaving?" asked the twins.

"I didn't hear her invite either of you," reminded Ellie. Transfiguring her pajamas and morphing her hair, Ellie kissed George goodbye, hit Fred for good measure, and followed Tonks to the fireplace.

They flooed to The Three Broomsticks, there they sat down at a table and ordered two butterbeers. "So, Tonks, I hear you're an Auror. What's that like?" Ellie asked.

"Depends on the day really. Some days it's exciting, you know catching the bad guys. But, then there are days of endless paper work and Kingsley the slave driver." They both laughed at Tonks' joke. "What do you do, Ellie?"

"I have a sweet shop in Diagon Alley. It's not open yet and what with every other shop closing I better get a move on."

"You're a lot like the twins. Not the evil, prankster part, but the whole creative-dreamer thing, definitely twin-like."

Ellie smiled, "Yeah, I guess so. They're the best though, evil tendencies and all. Living with them may seem hard, but it's pretty great."

"You live with them? I think you might be certifiable!" Tonks teased.

"Technically, we have our own flats above our shops. But we alternate almost every night."

"So, you and George, eh?" Tonks asked, waggling her eyebrows.

"That's a little scary, but yeah. We've been dating for about three days now, and I'm quite proud." Tonks laughed and Ellie couldn't help but join in.

"Come on, I need to go to the apothecary," Ellie said, grabbing Tonks' hand and paying for their drinks.

As Ellie bought her supplies, she asked Tonks if there was anywhere she needed to go. "I have the urge to try on expensive dresses we'll never be able to afford," Tonks said with a curious sparkle.

"Okay, why not?" Ellie bought her ingredients and linked her arm with Tonks'. "We're off to the wonderful world of expensive dresses!"

They found a small shop at the end of the road called Primrose. It was small and very pink. Ellie was suddenly less excited for their little adventure, but Tonks was not hearing any fuss.

Tonks was like a tornado grabbing dress after dress and filling two try on rooms. "This is yours, and this is mine! Ready, set, and go!" Ellie could have sworn Tonks was gone before she finished her sentence.

The first dress Ellie tried on was pink and puffy. There were sparkles too. She walked out to see Tonks in a lime green, floor length, and velvet dress. "I look like a bloody cupcake," Ellie complained.

"Not at all," Tonks assured her, though she was hiding a smile. "I look like an old lady! Okay, round two!" Ellie sighed; this was going to be a long, long day.

Round two was slightly better. The dress was simple, coming just above her knee and a light blue color. It was strapless with a thin black bow around the middle. Tonks too had a better dress. It was green again, but a very subtle and pretty green. It was longer than Ellie's by a bit with off the shoulder straps and a mesh outer layer. "Well, maybe this wasn't so bad after all," Ellie decided as they looked in a mirror.

Round three was almost awful as the first. Tonks had forced Ellie into a skin tight, sleeveless black dress that barely made it to her thigh. Her face was murderous when Tonks walked out in the exact same dress in bubblegum pink. "Why does a nice store like this even have these _things_? No one should even show this much skin!"

"Oh come now, Ellie! You look gorgeous!" Tonks attempted to persuade her. "I'm sure George would love it!"

"Yeah, and that thought alone is very frightening." Ellie quickly retreated to the dressing room to face her next dress.

They spent hours at the dress store. Some dresses were pretty, some were creepy, and some were just awful! But, after every dress, the light blue one always caught her eye again.

While Tonks was putting back all of their dresses, Ellie slipped the blue one back on. It made her look older, more mature. She momentarily morphed into her normal appearance. Almost instantly, the scar on her shoulder burned. She turned around quickly to see only the glimpse of a black-robed figure.

She was able to regain her calm stature as Tonks returned. "I'm going to buy this," she said proudly, holding up the green dress. "And you, Ellie, have to buy that one too!"

"Yeah, I think I will," Ellie decided. She played with different hairstyles for a few more minutes before changing and purchasing the dress. "Come on, Tonks, let's get some lunch!"

Ellie apparated them to an alley located in a busy part of London. They made their way to a small, discrete café. They each ordered a salad and a soda. "So where are we going to wear these wonderful dresses?" Ellie asked.

"Well I'm sure George will give you a reason to wear it," Tonks giggled.

"Well, when he comes around, so will you," Ellie said.

"I dunno, Ellie. He might not ever come around."

"Oh, he will. When we met in Hogsmeade the first time after he'd quit, he couldn't stop talking about you. He's just scared, really really scared. But, it won't last forever."

When they were done eating, they apparated back to Grimmauld Place. The twins were in the kitchen when they arrived. "Hey guys," Ellie greeted, sitting next to George.

"Bye guys," Tonks laughed. "I better get to work, the night shift is always awful. We have to do this again Ellie!" Before Ellie could answer, Tonks was already tripping out the door.

"What's this?" Fred asked. He was holding up her dress.

"Fred, give me that!"

"You wouldn't have a secret date planned, hm?" Fred teased. He was holding it out of her reach. Thinking quickly, Ellie morphed herself to be even taller than the twins and snatched her dress back.

"No, I don't, but it's always good to have a dress on hand," Ellie smiled.

"A very pretty dress at that," George added. Ellie kissed him on the cheek and grinned at him.

"Eww! George has Ellie germs!"

"Actually, dear brother, I quite like Ellie germs," George winked at Fred. Fred was still making faces at the two. George put his back to Ellie and she happily jumped on.

He carried her to the living room where they laid down on the couch together. "Did you have fun today?" George asked her.

"Mhm," she mumbled tiredly. "Tonks is very energetic," Ellie yawned loudly. "You're a good pillow, think, nap, good." Ellie was completely incoherent by the time she finished.

As Ellie napped, she dreamed too. It started with good dreams: ones of George and a bunch of dresses, separately of course. But then they changed. Voldemort, her father, and blurs of cloaked images kept coming up. A sharp pain in her shoulder caused her to wake up with a gasp.

She was scared at first but immediately comforted by George, whose concerned eyes were watching her closely. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Ellie kept trying to fall asleep, but a twinge in her shoulder prevented her.

To her incredible shock, George started singing. It was very soft and sounded like a lullaby. He wasn't a spectacular singer, but the sound was very soothing. "Very pretty," Ellie mumbled before peaceful sleep consumed her once more.

A wonderfully delicious smell woke Ellie and her grumbling stomach. She realized almost at once that she was no longer in Grimmauld Place but rather the twins' flat, the coach in their living room to be exact.

Over coming this moment of confusion, Ellie proceeded to follow the will of her stomach and track down the source of the smell. Her nose was lead to the kitchen where she was met with quite the peculiar sight.

Fred and George were doing the unthinkable. They were cooking! Or at least, they were attempting to cook. The kitchen was lightly covered in flour from top to bottom. Some type of batter evenly covered most of the ceiling. The refrigerator was open and Fred was searching through it. George had a box so close to his face it touched his nose.

"Was it five or six eggs, George?" Fred asked.

"It was four!"

"Oh. Well, one extra shouldn't matter. Now come on, it's time to cook 'em."

Ellie simply leaned against the wall in order to watch the tragedy unfold. The first accident happened when Fred got to excited and flung more batter on the ceiling. Not long afterwards, he burnt his hand. Then George burnt his hand. Eventually, Fred burnt his other hand.

It was almost a half hour later when the twins turned around, matching stacks of pancakes in their hands. However, completely shocked by Ellie's presence they both launched the pancakes directly at her. Luckily a quick wave of her wand and they stopped, rearranged themselves on the plates, and settled on the table.

Ellie's raised eyebrow warranted nothing but sheepish grins. "Morning sleepy head!" greeted Fred.

"Warmest welcome I've ever received guys! Attack by pancakes, real charming," Ellie glared at them.

"Well, we did make you breakfast, love," George offered.

"I guess that's an apology. So, what time is it?"

George grinned and gave Ellie a hug while Fred put down the plate he had been using as a shield. "It is eight in the morning and you better eat a lot of pancakes," George answered.

"Why's that?" Ellie questioned with a mouth full of pancakes.

"You always did picked the well mannered ones, George," Fred teased. Ellie stuck out her tongue, which really didn't help her case.

"You need to eat a lot because, one you slept through dinner, and two because you open you're shop today."

After spitting her pancakes at George, she shouted, "I'm what?"

"Ellie, it's time. Go get dressed and we'll meet you there at eleven."

The twins all but pushed her out the door by the time it finally dawned on her. "Oh my gosh. This is going to be a disaster," she thought to herself.

Ellie took a lightning fats shower and put on a ruffled black skirt and a simple blue blouse. She morphed her hair short and light purple with sweeping bangs that fell in front of her eyes. At ten to eleven she sent a patronus, which was an armadillo, to Remus and Tonks to let them know.

She grabbed the last of her products and put them in their place. Ellie then went to the front of the store and refurbished the sign to say Conspicuous Confections.

The twins arrived just as she finished and opened the door. "Here goes nothing I suppose," Ellie sighed and entered the store, grinning twins not far behind her.

**Author's Note: Hello to all! So I'm dedicating this chapter, to my sister, who, although not amused by fanfiction, is pretty amazing. So the next chapter is going to be HUGE! I mean it SUPER BIG! So, review if you wish to read that chapter! Yep, that's right, I'm blackmailing you! :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Oh So Much To Do

Chapter 6: Oh So Much To Do

The slow flow of customers was unnerving Ellie at the very least. Sure, she tried to boost her confidence by remembering that it was still early morning. That was, until, the twins ditched her for who knows how long doing only Merlin knows what. Ellie's hope and drive for her impractical business were slipping away, or at least they started to. Her twin best friends returned, suspicious grins on their faces.

The rush of customers that came storming in was astounding. Ellie was running around in circles, trying to assist everyone. And regardless of how busy she might have miraculously become, the smile on her face hadn't slipped at all.

A tap on her shoulder brought Ellie out of her undisturbed focus slash uphoria. As soon as she saw George, she kissed him full on the lips. "Can you believe this?" she asked the slightly dazed George.

"I feel like you should do that more often, but, yes I can believe it," George smirked at Ellie who still looked like a kid in a candy shop, no pun intended. "Come on there are some people I want you to meet. Don't worry you're customers are in Fred's barely capable hands!"

George led Ellie over to two people, one familiar and the other a stranger. "Lee!" Ellie shouted happily. She then jumped on his back with an over enthusiastic yell.

"Why do you always do that, Ellie?" Lee sighed.

"I wouldn't have to if you came to visit me more often. With very few friends, I get bored with the twins easily."

"Hey!" George yelled. Ellie just smiled at him innocently.

"For your information, Ellie, I saw you three days ago," Lee reminded her. "And I saw you four days before that, though you've greeted me the same both times and today makes three." Ellie laughed along with George at Lee's obvious annoyance, even if it was all in good fun. The girl whom Ellie had not met yet made her presence known by laughing outrageously at the three of them.

She covered her mouth but the laughing continued, though she was blushing severely. "Good to know you haven't changed, Alicia," George said. She did manage to stop laughing and she hugged George in greeting. Alicia was a very pretty girl with long brown hair and tanned skin. She was taller than Ellie but still shorter than George.

"I thought I told you guys to stop being funny. That happens every damned time," Alicia chastised. "Hullo Ellie, I'm Alicia Spinnet." Ellie was going to shake her hand but Alicia grabbed her and hugged Ellie.

"Nice to meet you and thanks for coming," Ellie greeted.

"Oh I was happy to. This place is amazing. Lee was right, you're definitely like the twins," Alicia told her.

"Ellie, Lee and I are going to help Fred, okay? You hang out with Alicia," George said. He gave Ellie a quick kiss before he and Lee left.

"So you and George, eh?" Alicia prodded.

"So you and Lee, eh?" Ellie joked.

When Alicia responded, "Who told you?" Ellie was shocked.

"I didn't know! I was just kidding. Oh Merlin that's bloody fantastic!"

"It is?"

"Yeah! I mean it's Lee! I may get on his nerves but he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. The two of you are perfect for each other."

"Ah, Ellie, we just met," Alicia laughed.

"Details, details," Ellie scoffed.

"No one else knows, so you can't tell anybody! So, resist his boyish charms woman!"

"Whose boyish charms might you be referring too?" George asked.

"Lee's of course, you know I can't resist him," Ellie joked.

"Can't resist Lee? Me either!" George laughed. "But I was under the impression that you were smitten with me too."

"Don't know how you got that idea."

"Oh really?" George smirked before lifting Ellie into the air and spinning her around. As Ellie became increasingly dizzy, almost the entire shop started laughing.

A twinkling laugh stood out from the rest, coming from near the door. "George Weasley, put that poor child down," laughed a very pretty woman. She was about the twins' age with dark skin and long, shiny black hair. She had an amazingly bright smile and beautiful hazel eyes. She was tall and lean, obviously athletic.

George put Ellie down and hugged the woman, "It's good to see you Ang!" George turned to Ellie who was anything but happy. Poor child? Sure Ellie's natural stature was much shorter than George but she hardly looked like a child. "Ellie James, this is Angelina Johnson, one of my friends from school."

"It's nice to meet you," Ellie managed to say politely if only just barely.

Angelina smiled at her quickly before looking back to George. "George," she cooed. "You act like we hardly new each other. You haven't told Elsie any stories about us?" Angelina was all over George and there was no way to word it any differently.

"My name is Ellie," she corrected.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Angelina replied, not even bothering to look at her.

"Um, George, could I talk to you, in the back?" Ellie asked. Before he could answer, Ellie grabbed his wrist. "Excuse us," she gave Angelina a tight smile.

Ellie dragged George to the back room where she proceeded to glare at him. "What did I do?" George asked, frightened.

"I realize it has only been four days since we became a couple, but we've seen each other everyday for almost a month and a half."

"I'm still very much confused, Love."

"Well, you've never mentioned Angelina, not once! And by the looks of it, she seems to think you know each other extremely well. I've heard stories about Lee, Alicia, and the whole bloody Quidditch team, but never did you mention Angelina. I kind of want to know why."

George sighed, one of his cute, troubled sighs. "All right, Angelina and I dated for two years and we definitely were close, really really close." George scratched the back of his neck, trying to hide his guilty, blushing face.

"You didn't?" Ellie whispered, eyes wide. George laughed uneasily and Ellie took it as a confession. "You _slept _with her?"

George looked mortified, "It was once, okay? I-In seventh year! It was all Fred's fault! H-he caused it!"

Ellie wanted to be mad, but knew all too well that she had no grounds. Even if they were good friends and now dating, she couldn't expect George to explain every gory detail of his love life. "So, how did you guys break up?"

"Well, not long after the _incident_-"

"You mean when you slept with her?" Ellie interrupted.

"Yes, but don't say it like that. You make it sound so dirty," George reprimanded.

"Would you rather I said that you had sexual intercourse?" Ellie giggled.

George covered his ears, "Nuhh, grose. This is why I refer to it as the _incident._ Are you done now?"

Ellie nodded, still grinning, but George continued anyway. "So, not long after _it, _I realized I didn't love her like that and after two years I figured I should have known by then if I would ever love her. And between you and me, I'm really glad I did," George finished.

"Why?" asked Ellie.

"Because, Ellie, if I was still dating Angelina, I wouldn't be dating you," George explained. Ellie smiled up at him and kissed him.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you. It's hard to believe the two of you dated that long."

"How so?"

"She's kind of a bitch," Ellie told him.

George laughed, "I think she's just jealous."

"Yeah, well she's not the only one," Ellie said quietly.

George grabbed Ellie's hand and smiled at her, "Yeah, but she's the only one with a reason to be. You don't have to worry a single strangely colored hair on your head." And with that, they returned to the hustle and bustle of the shop.

Ellie left George by Fred and Lee and walked over to Angelina and Alicia. "Hullo," Ellie greeted.

Alicia smiled at her but Angelina simply ignored her. "Angelina, what is your problem?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that I happen to love George, unlike you and I happen to be the right person for him, unlike you," Angelina said sharply.

"You don't even know me! I happen to like George a lot and I happen to be very good for him. So I'm not into Quidditch and I'm not extremely pretty, but we get along just fine. How are you any better for him than me?"

Angelina sneered at Ellie, "George likes to have fun, he likes to have a lot of friends, and he likes girls who aren't freakishly weird."

Ellie's hair turned red as she got angry, "I'm a lot of fun and George seems to like my oddities, thank you. But, I get that you're jealous, and I'm jealous of you too, but having the upper hand here, I'm going to ask you to leave!" Angelina was going to argue back when George came over.

"Everything all right here?" George asked, clearly worried that there would be bloodshed.

"Yep, no one is bleeding, _yet_," Ellie answered, still glaring.

"Right then, Ang, no offense, but you might want to leave, for your own safety," George said, stepping in between the two girls. Angelina pushed George aside, slapped Ellie, and was out the door before either one knew what had happened.

George grabbed Ellie around the middle before she could chase after Angelina, "Damn it George, let me go!"

"Ellie, she'll have all ready apparated, just let it go. What did you say to her, anyways?"

"I just told her she had to leave, it's not my fault she's a raving lunatic," Ellie complained.

"Just promise me you won't pick a fight with Angelina?" George asked.

"No, I will make you no promises," Ellie answered him.

"Fine just don't kill each other," George relented. "Here, let me help." George conjured some ice and held Ellie's face in his hand. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine," Ellie protested, but George just ignored her. After icing it for several minutes, George was able to get rid of the brusing that had started. Ellie immediately felt better and thanked him.

"What, no kiss?" George whined.

"Git," Ellie said before kissing him as he wished. Even Fred's usual cat calls and wolf whistling couldn't break the two apart. The two were joined at the lips, their usual pretenses of innocence and sweet kisses long forgotten. Finally, though, George was tapped roughly on the shoulder.

George turned to confront the interrupter but was immediately confronted by the stern face of Remus Lupin and the highly amused, giggling face of Nymphadora Tonks.

"Hiya Remus, Tonks," George greeted. Insert death glare from Remus. "Haha, please don't eat me," George whispered.

"Professor Lupin! Tonks!" Ellie shouted, hugging them both. "I'm so glad you guys came."

"Wouldn't miss it, Ellie," Remus smiled. "And you can call me Remus."

"Right, I'll try," Ellie answered, feeling slightly awkward.

"Ellie, as your best friend, I'd like to request some free samples," Tonks laughed, nudging Ellie in the ribs.

"No way, you like it, you buy it, that's my motto."

"Fine, fine. But I will warn you, I am not below black mailing you with evidence of your scarily intense snog," Tonks explained.

"Who are you gonna tell? Mrs Weasley? That's weirder for George than me. Sweetie you got nothing," Ellie retorted. They were both prattling on about nothing in particular, just in the most competitive way possible.

"You want to bet on that?" Tonks got a frightening glint in her eye. "Hey George!" Tonks shouted. George turned around with a cocked eyebrow. "Ellie doesn't think you snog as well as you think you do!"

"I never said that," Ellie whispered to Tonks harshly. She then turned to George and shouted, "I never said that. I think you snog very well, actually. And I could never know how highly you view your snogging abilities." Tonks started giggling uncontrollably. "I sounded like such an idiot, didn't I?"

Remus smiled and nodded his head while Tonks snorted. "If you guys need me, I'll be running my shop. Have fun you two."

"O-oh, Ellie, maybe I'll come with you," Tonks had stopped laughing.

"No, Tonks, you will stay here."

Ellie walked around and helped a few people before stopping behind a shelf where she could easily watch Tonks and Remus. They were just standing there. Both looked stiff, nervous. Fortunately, Tonks must have said something, because a conversation began. In time, they relaxed and became more sociable. Ellie smiled as someone cleared his or her throat. Ellie jumped in fright and turned around quickly.

Narcissa Malfoy, tall, slender, and superior, stared down at Ellie with a look of disgust. Eleanor Macnair had encountered this pompous woman many times but that had been before her great escape.

"H-hello, Mam," Ellie greeted, trying to maintain her cover. "How may I assist you?"

"I wish to meet the owner," she sneered.

"T-that would be me, Ellie James."

"Hmm," Narcissa looked her up and down, the look of disgust still plastered on her beautiful face. And without another glance she was gone. As her long, emerald green traveling cloak whipped out of the door, Ellie's shoulder, where her unusual scar was located, burned. Ellie grabbed her shoulder with her hand and ran over to Remus.

"Remus, can I speak with you?"

"Sure, Ellie." She led him to the back room where she locked and silenced the room. "What's wrong?"

"The scar on my shoulder, it burns every once in a while. Does it mean anything?"

"Well," Remus thought hard, looking for the right words. "I can't be sure. I don't know what the curse was focused on or what it's intent was. Certain Seers believe cursed wounds have prophetic qualities. That may be true but all I can say for sure is that the effects of the injuries aren't spreading."

"Okay, Remus, thanks," Ellie said, still distracted. She left the back room and tried to forget about her scar and Narcissa Malfoy.

The rest of Ellie's first day went by without incident. She had quite a few customers, and she did seem to notice that they all knew the twins.

At seven o'clock, Ellie closed up shop. Tonks and Remus had left earlier and so had Lee and Alicia. Now it was just Fred, George, and Ellie lounging around in the back room.

"I'm exhausted," Fred said, punctuating his sentence with a huge yawn. "Think I'll go to bed." Fred retired to the twins' room in Ellie's flat.

"I'm not tired at all," Ellie sighed.

"Me either. But I am hungry. What do you say we have our first official date? Ellie, Love, I think it's time you wore that dress," George grinned at Ellie, who, to say the least, looked unnerved.


	7. Chapter 7: The Book Who Had To Be Opened

Chapter 7: The Book Who Had To Be Opened

Having only half an hour to prepare to prepare for her and George's first official date, Ellie apparated the ten feet from the back room to her bedroom. Deciding she had no time for an actual shower, Ellie cast a quick "Descentia" charm (which is similar to scourgify, but much gentler and therefore better to use on one's body).

Once she was clean, Ellie donned her dress from her day with Tonks and paired it with simple black heels that had small bow accents near the toe. She then added a silver key charm on a shear, blue ribbon as a necklace and a plain black clutch to hold her wand.

She had also morphed her appearance for the night. Her hair was in champagne blond ringlets to the small of her back. Her face was the usual rounded, freckled one, except her eyes were now a very light blue. Ellie's stature was now her naturally short one. With a last once over in the mirror, Ellie went to meet George outside of WWW.

George stood with his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a buttoned, grey cardigan with the sleeves rolled up over a plain blue v-neck and grey jeans. Of course his favorite, obnoxiously bright, orange sneakers were on his feet.

When he saw Ellie coming, he straightened and the two merely stared at each for a while. Eventually, though, George snapped back to reality and said, with his biggest grin, "You look pretty."

Ellie laughed and grinned back, "You look pretty too."

He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "I try." Then he offered his arm to Ellie, who looped her own through it. "So where are we going?" Ellie asked as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"It's a secret," George answered with his favorite of the twins' seventy-four mischievous smiles. Ellie didn't bother trying to get the information out of him, he was a Weasley, they are unnaturally, unyielding people. In the best sense possible of course.

As they approached the Leaky Cauldron, George had Ellie hold onto him so that he could apparate them to their destination. When her stomach finally arrived from Diagon Alley, Ellie tried to open her eyes only to see George's hands in the way. "George, I can't see?"

"Oh, I know. I told you it's a secret! You can't look until we get there." They walked some more in silence. All Ellie could tell was that they were outside on unleveled ground.

Finally, George came to a stop, turned Ellie around, took his hands away from her face, and subsequently took her breath away. They were in a forest, in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees. In the center was a round table with a white tablecloth, candles, and place settings for two. Around the table were floating lanterns that lit the otherwise dark clearing.

Ellie turned her wide-eyed expression to George, who was, even more surprisingly, blushing! The only time he blushed was when Fred teased them. "Well, what do you think?" he asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is amazing," she said. Ellie was at a loss for words. Instead of trying to explain just how spectacular it was, she simply stood on her toes and kissed him. George kissed back and the two, their bodies seeming to fit together, stood there for some time.

When they eventually broke apart, George asked breathlessly, "Hungry?" Ellie just nodded her head. He took her hand and led her to the table. After he had pulled out her chair, she sat and he went to his own chair.

As George waved his wand, two silver dishes floated from somewhere behind Ellie. A bowl of salad and a saucer of dressing landed neatly on the table. As George served them both, Ellie asked, "Why were you nervous before?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you would think this is silly," George mumbled. Ellie just shook her head.

They ate in silence for a while until Ellie said, "Thanks for helping today. You mean a lot to me."

"Don't you mean it? _It _means a lot to you?" George asked confused.

Secretly hoping he wouldn't have caught that Ellie said quietly, "No I meant you."

"Well, you mean a lot to me too," George replied. He placed his hand on top of Ellie's and they simply stared at each other for the longest time.

Until curiosity won over and Ellie had to ask, "Where are we?"

George laughed out loud at the change of subject. "We're about half a mile away from the Burrow."

The rest of their date went by and they talked about anything: the next Order meeting, teachers from Hogwarts, the Weasleys, George's obsession with wanting a Weasley-red kitten. They managed to talk for three hours and avoid topics of the War the entire time.

After dessert, George cleared everything away from the clearing and they apparated back to Diagon Alley. They walked in silence and didn't talk until they arrived outside WWW. "E-Ellie," George stuttered. He looked down into her eyes and said, stronger than he started, "I love you."

Ellie swallowed, turning away her gaze, "Thanks George." Before she could even rectify her idiotic mistake the small bell rang on the door of WWW and he was gone. Ellie stared after him from what must have been an hour.

"Stupid, stupid. Merlin you're an idiot Ellie!" she thought. Of course she loved George. She'd been in love with him for a month and eleven days, since the first time Fred dragged her to their shop. Then why couldn't she say it? Why? She knew exactly why. She had only been loved by one person, not in the same way she loved George, but it was still love. And that person had been taken away from her. She wouldn't risk losing George, even if it hurt the both of them. Not bothering to stop or even subdue her tears, Ellie's body shook with sobs all the way to her shop and to her room.

Not bothering to even change her clothes, Ellie fell into bed. She cried for hours until she ran out of tears. Then she simply curled into a ball and felt sorry for herself. Over and over again she wished she could turn back time. She wanted nothing more than to have told George the truth: that she loved him and always would. Now she had broken his heart and, in the process, her own. Sometime amidst her self-loathing, Ellie was finally overcome by exhaustion.

The next morning Ellie woke up to blinding sunlight that made her head hurt. She was confused at first, as to why her face was sticky from dried tears and why she was wearing her dress. But then it came flooding back, George's hopeful expression, the lump in her throat, and the chiming of the bell.

Wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed, Ellie got up and walked to her mirror. And instantly felt worse about herself. Her hair was limp and murky-blonde. Her face was red, puffy and covered in smeared make-up. The once pretty dress was now wrinkled and stretched out. Sighing heavily, Ellie peeled off the dress and took a long hot shower.

When she was dressed again, she reexamined herself. Her eyes were still puffy due to the tears that had come while she got ready, but her face was no longer bright red. She had replaced her dress with a simple pink t-shirt and jeans. But, her hair was still lifeless and the same murky-blonde. She couldn't morph it back and had never experienced this glitch before. Deciding to deal with it later, Ellie simply tied it into a ponytail.

Looking at the clock, Ellie realized it was ten minutes to ten, and therefore she had ten minutes until she needed to open her shop. Rushing down the stairs, Ellie quickly checked all of the shelves to make sure everything was were it should be. Once she had restocked whatever was running low Ellie unlocked the door and took a seat behind the counter.

She had been hoping it would be busy on a Friday. She wanted to work and help customers, anything to avoid thinking about George. But luck was not on her side. An elderly couple came in looking for some plain sweets. Ellie assisted them but it only took a few minutes. A middle-aged woman, a man who appeared to be her husband, and a young boy came in. It was their other son's birthday, they had said. They requested something fun that would not get confiscated at Hogwarts. Ellie helped them arrange a large assortment to send and then, they too, were gone.

She had started counting the number of sweets in her shop. At seventy she started thinking about Hogwarts. At ninety, it was her father she thought about. At one hundred and twelve it was Fred. And at two hundred and seventy three it was George. George's eyes, George's hair, George's smile, George's kisses, George's undoubtedly hurt expression. George, George, George.

And then it was Fred. Well, only because Fred rushed through her door, glaring daggers at her. Until he saw what a mess she was also. Her hair was still murky, her eyes newly puffy from her George rant, her face once again covered in dried tears. And Fred just didn't have the heart to yell at her or accuse her of breaking his best friend's heart.

Ellie glanced at her watch, decided it was late enough to close the shop, and locked the front door. Signaling Fred to follow her upstairs, Ellie made her way to the kitchen, first indicating him to sit in the living room. Ellie silently made tea before setting it down between them and taking a seat. Once Fred had fixed them both a cup, he gave her a look that meant only one thing: talk.

When she didn't respond, Fred finally spoke, "What happened exactly?"

"He told me he loved me. He said 'Ellie, I love you' and you know what I said? 'Thanks George', that's what I said."

"You seem to think you're a git for doing so. I take it you do actually love him?"

"I do, Fred, I really do. It's just I'm scared. Not that he won't love me or that we won't be together forever, I'm scared because, because, well I can't explain it." Shaking her head angrily, Ellie put her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Maybe everything would just disappear? When she gave up on that, she finally asked, "How is he?"

"Due to the four bottles of fire whiskey he has consumed since last night, my dear brother has not been able to form complete sentences and consequentially I don't know how he is. I've taken an educational guess in saying not good," Fred said grimly. "I'm not going to say that I'm not mad at you. Although, I will say I don't want to be mad at you. Ellie, George and I know you, probably more than anyone else, but that doesn't mean we know anything close to everything about you. You're a closed book and if you want to keep the people you love around, you're going to have to open up."

Ellie looked at her hands, tightly curled in her lap, ashamed of herself. She hated it when Fred was right. Especially about things she can't admit to herself. "Okay, Fred, you're right. I'm going to talk to him. Can you do me one favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Wait here. If we start arguing George is going to want you to back him up and so will I. If things go well, I'll either let you know or just let you sleep here."

Without waiting for Fred to answer, Ellie walked to WWW. Outside the door she could see George sitting at the counter. His chin was in the palm of his hand, his elbow on the counter top. He was looking at his glass, disgusted. With himself? Or with her?

Taking one last deep breath, Ellie opened the door. The sound of the bell made George look up at her. His blood-shot eyes held hers as she swallowed the last of her fear.

**Author's Note: I seriously have no idea why it took so long but it most definitely did. **

**But, anyways. I'm soooooper sorry and hope you don't hate me too much. I also know this is pretty short but I just wanted to get it out. Review Pretty Please. Maybe that'll get me motivated.**


	8. Chapter 8: Explain Away

Chapter 8: Explain Away

"Hey," Ellie whispered. George didn't respond, which probably would have made her feel less ashamed. She wanted him to yell at her, to be angry. At least that was something, but, no. He just sat there. Sat and stared at her. He didn't even frown for Merlin's sake! "Say something, please."

George looked at her, his expression showing little evidence of the deliberating going on in his head. "What am I supposed to say?" he asked. Ellie's heart ached at how broken he sounded. Wanting nothing more than to hug him, Ellie knew she couldn't do anything before she explained herself.

"I guess I don't know. But I need to tell you something, something I've never actually told anyone before. I just need you to listen. Just listen and if you still hate me, I'll leave, deal?" Ellie looked at him for an answer but all he did was look at her, like he had been the entire time.

"Okay, then," Ellie sighed. Not bothering to even sit down, Ellie started to explain, as best she could. "So, the truth is, I've only ever said I love you to one person. It wasn't like us or anything but still, they were the only person." Ellie had walked over to a container of the Twins' latest creations and used it as a chair. This was a lot more difficult then she had thought. "It was my mum. She was the only person I ever knew that I loved. And I'm still scared. I don't want that to repeat itself because, well, I don't think I could handle it this time." Ellie had started to babble and she didn't know how to stop or how to start making sense.

"Ellie, I have no idea what you're trying to say," George interrupted. Though his face was no longer the emotionless mask, he still had his arms crossed protectively over his chest.

"Right," Ellie mumbled. "Why don't I explain the story and then how it applies to now? Yeah that sounds good," Ellie asked and answered her question. "Okay, so I was seven years old when it happened. I've always hated my father, even when I was so young, but I wasn't the only one. My mum hated his slimy, Death Eater self too. It was an arranged marriage that she was forced into. Her parents were a lot like my father, pure blood mania and prejudiced, the usual. They knew, however, that my mum wasn't like that. They had been nervous ever since she was sorted into Ravenclaw. They might have both dropped dead if she fell for someone that was so much as a half blood," Ellie laughed humorlessly.

"So they arranged this marriage with my father's parents. He didn't really care, being so focused on Voldemort, and she was beautiful and he was a pig. My mum was miserable until I was born I suppose. She was my best friend, you see. I didn't much like all the other pureblooded children that I met. So things got better for a while. And then they were great, when I was six my father left on a yearlong mission for Voldemort and it was just my mum and I. Maybe a month after he left, my mum was even more cheerful then she had been since he left. I didn't know why and I wouldn't for the longest time. And we were happy, the happiest I had ever been. Until he came back and ruined my life," Ellie was still talking and not really paying attention to the present. Rather she was far more focused on the past. She didn't even notice the way George's face had progressively softened.

"I woke up one morning to my parents shouting. I was only seven but I knew something was wrong. They were in the kitchen, screaming at each other. They both had their wands out, my mum was crying, and my father had a bunch of letters in his hand. He was so angry with her and she was just finally telling him what she really thought about him. Before it happened, they got really quiet and my mum said, she said 'I love him'. And then, he, my own father, killed her," Ellie was crying now and though he hadn't come to comfort her yet, he was leaning towards her, barely keep his place behind the counter. She needed to explain this all, George tried to convince himself.

Wiping at her eyes, Ellie continued, "He saw me in the doorway just staring at my mum's body and he laughed. That bloody bastard laughed as I sobbed and ran to her. He had the nerve to look at her and say to me, 'That's what happens when you fall in love. That's what will happen if you ever let anything stop you from doing what you're told. You'll end up like her, a disgrace who can no longer embarrass me.' And I nodded my head. I agreed with him. I thought he was right, I mean I didn't have anything to make me think otherwise. The only person to ever really care of me was gone and I was the only who even cared. Well, and the man she had fallen in love with, I suppose. I don't know who he was. My father burned the letters and slapped me when I asked.

"I don't think I was able to talk for a month after she died. I barely left my room and he didn't care. He said that the more I hid the less of a chance there was for me to make him ashamed and every time he said something horrid about my mother I agreed with him. He would mock her memory and all I could bloody do was nod my head and say 'Of course, father'. At first I could say, what am I going to do? I'm only eight, I'm only ten, I'm only eleven. But by then I had people I could have told if I had been brave enough to really do something."

She finally met George's eyes from across the room. "I'm still afraid of him, George. I'm still afraid of losing anyone I get close to. I'm afraid of losing you to my father. I can't let that happen because I can't go back to the way I was before. Before I ran away, I was such a coward, still am in fact," Ellie finished. She wouldn't meet George's eyes, too ashamed to see what he thought of her. She heard his footsteps, slow at first, but eventually they stopped just in front of her. She stared down at his shoes, not trusting herself to look into his eyes. One look from those baby blues and she'd lose her determination.

"Ellie, look at me," George whispered, it wasn't forceful but pleading. And she looked at him. "You're not a coward, you could never be a coward. You're father isn't going to get me. Or you, either, Ellie, because you're safe right here." When she just shook her head, not willing to listen, he added, "I could never hate you."

"W-what?" Ellie hiccupped through her tears.

"You said that if I still hated you then you would leave. But I never hated you anyway." And that did it. It wasn't particularly sweet or really all that convincing. Then again her persistence had almost worn away to nothing.

So Ellie got up grabbed the front of George's t-shirt and sobbed into his chest. And he held her just like that. She cried and he gently smoothed her hair. When her sobs had quieted, George said quietly, "I love you."

"I love you too, George, so much," Ellie said finally looking up at him. They smiled at each other; happy to know everything was okay again.

"So where's Fred?" George asked suddenly.

"Oh, right," Ellie laughed. "He's at my flat. I should probably tell him it's safe to come back."

"Nah, I'm sure he's fine," George grinned evilly.

"What do you me-" Elli started to ask. But as George's lips crashed into her own she had to agree with him. Fred would be fine by himself. For just one night at least.

The morning of December 15th Ellie woke up bright and early in order to get ready. She did not, however, foresee being pinned down by George, making getting up quite difficult. Sighing to herself, Ellie carefully slid off of her bed and searched the floor for the clothes she had laid out the night before. Finally finding them under a pile of George's things, Ellie went to get ready.

When she had showered and gotten dressed, Ellie went to wake George. He had thrown all of the sheets and the blanket off of the bed and he lay sprawled across the entire thing. His t-shirt was bunched up, revealing his stomach while he snored quietly, oblivious to Ellie's staring.

Though there was still little distinction between Ellie's flat and the Twins', over the past two months Ellie and George had taken to spending their nights at her flat while Fred remained in the twins'. At first Fred complained about being lonely, but now he seemed quite happy with the idea. He now had no problem teasing the couple on their need for privacy. "I don't like being near you two when you snog, I might have permanent brain damage at the thought of you two sleeping together." Ellie and George had both hit Fred for that. It was really none of Fred's business what they did.

Finally getting bored of simply staring at her boyfriend, Ellie ran and jump on top of him. As George groaned in pain, Ellie said pleasantly, "Good morning, George!"

"Ellie, why are you so mean to me?" George whined.

"Because I love you," Ellie giggled, stressing each syllable. Before George could retort, Ellie kissed him and he was more than happy to stop arguing. Just as things began to get heated, there was a rhythmic and complicated knock on the door. Breaking their kiss, Ellie shouted, "Come in!"

"Where are you Ellie?" Tonks called.

"In my room, over here," Ellie answered. Not bothering to get off of George, who was actually starting to get comfortable, she turned towards the doorway to see Tonks and her mousy brown spikes which were now tinted with Tonks' usual bubblegum pink near the roots.

"Hullo George," greeted Tonks, grinning at the two. "Ready to go, Ellie?" Tonks asked.

"Where are you guys going again?" George asked.

"We are going Christmas shopping, which I have told you several times already," Ellie laughed at his forgetfulness. With one last kiss goodbye, Ellie grabbed her bag and followed Tonks out of the door. They were going to as many shops in Diagon Alley as they could before going to Hogsmeade. "Where to first?"

They started off at Zonko's where Ellie got a plethora of joke supplies for Lee Jordan and Tonks, surprisingly, got a similar gift for her dad. When Ellie asked her about it, Tonks replied, "I get him a sweater every year that he opens in front of my mum, but then I give this to him in secret. She would have a fit if she knew, though."

Next they went to Honeydukes so Ellie could get Chocolate Frogs for Alicia (which were her favorite) as well as a few other harmless sweets. As opposed to the large amount of sweets, ones from her own shop, she was arming Fred with as his gift, which would undoubtedly be dangerous for someone.

They walked around simply window-shopping, before Ellie sighed in exasperation. "Tonks, we have got to focus! Who do you need to shop for?"

"Well, my mum, Arthur, Molly, Ginny, Remus, and you," Tonks answered after thinking for a few moments.

"Okay, I still need to get something for Mr and Mrs Weasley, George, Remus, you, and Ginny."

"Ginny? You two have never actually met, though," Tonks said, confusion evident on her face.

Ellie blushed, "Oh, this is going to sound awful. But I really need to impress her. The Weasleys' impressions of me mean a lot and she's one of the only three I haven't met. Percy doesn't matter, because he's a prat, right? And Fred always says the only thing I need to do to win Ron over is being a girl. But Ginny is the Twins' favorite sibling, so it's kinda' important to me."

Tonks didn't laugh, but rather got a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I have an idea, but we'll do that later. First I think a bookshop, for Remus, yes?" Ellie agreed and the two of them put their money to get Remus five new Defense books and a sweater, not from the bookstore, that Tonks sort of fell in love with because, "It's the exact bleeding shade of brown as his eyes," according to her.

At the bookshop, Tonks also found several things for her mother and a book on house keeping spells for Mrs Weasley. They then went to a small Muggle-centric shop for Mr Weasley's gift. They were able to find a very detailed model of an airplane that they were giving him from both of them.

After stopping at the Quidditch store, where Tonks got Ginny a Holyhead Harpies jersey and Ellie got Ajax a quaffle because he broke his last one, they made their way to a small, old looking jewelry store.

"I'm sure you'll find something in here," Tonks assured Ellie as she opened the door. A grey-haired, old woman smiled in greeting as they entered. Tonks excused herself, saying she had to pick something up for a friend, and left Ellie to shop on her own.

"May I help you with something?" the woman asked.

"Yes, Mam, I'm looking for Christmas gifts. I need something for my boyfriend's mom and his little sister, too. Oh, and for my friend who just left. I really have no idea what I'm doing."

The woman smiled at her before she began pulling many different items off of shelves and from inside locked cabinets. Finally she came back and showed Ellie everything she had taken down. She divided them into three groups.

"I believe these are lovely for your friend," she said. Ellie looked over the various necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

"I'm sorry, but none of these seem right. Do you have anything that is oddly colored? Maybe, something that's brighter than usual?" Ellie, uncertain as to what she was even thinking of. But then the shopkeeper brought out a necklace that was absolutely perfect. It was a black choker that, when looked at closely or in the light, shone in a rainbow of colors.

Next they looked at things for Mrs Weasley. Ellie took a long time looking at all the choices, not really sure what she was looking for. Eventually, she decided on a pair of gold earrings that matched the gold necklace she had advised Fred and George to get for their mum.

They finally moved onto Ginny, whom Ellie had the least knowledge of. Other than the fact she liked Quidditch and was a Weasley, Ellie didn't know a thing. She decided to just browse the entire shop, having no way of canceling certain things out. When Tonks came back, Ellie picked her brain for any of Ginny's interests.

"Well, she's real into Quidditch, but you knew that. She likes Muggle stuff a lot, like her dad, 'cept it's not really an obsession like his. I think she reads, or she could just do well in school, I suppose," Tonks searched her brain for all she knew. "Oh, she's into like art stuff too."

"Art stuff? What do you mean by that?" Ellie asked.

"You know, like music and drawing. Art stuff," Tonks answered, as if her meaning should have been clear.

Ellie thought on it for a minute before it clicked. "Come on, we've got to go back to the Muggle shop." Ellie grabbed Tonks's hand and dragged her down the rode. Ellie rushed around the shop before she finally found what she was looking for and purchased it.

"What are you getting for George? He's the only one left, right?" Tonks asked.

Ellie thought for a while. She knew the perfect gift for George but it was a little dangerous. Could she really ask that much of Tonks? "Well, I do have one idea. But it could get us in a lot of trouble."

"How much trouble are we talking?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Like, dead?" Ellie answered uncertainly.

"I'm in," Tonks shrugged in a very nonchalant way before she allowed Ellie to explain.

**Author's Note: Kay. Right. Sooooooper sorry! But I'm on vacation for a month and haven't been able to write much. Not that my updates are ever timely. But yeah. Enjoy read and review please?**


	9. Chapter 9: Sneakin' and a Questionin'

Chapter 9: Sneakin' and a Questionin'

Ellie lead the way to the side of Macnair Manor, where she slid open a secret panel that opened up into the library. "Is anybody here?" Tonks whispered as she followed closely behind Ellie, watching her footing very carefully, knowing full well it would be just her luck to succeed on countless Auror missions only to trip down a flight of stairs in the presence of a Death Eater.

"I'm not really sure. He could be on a mission for Voldemort, but the Manor might have been offered up to Voldemort for whatever purpose."

"And what if it is being used by Death Eaters?" Tonks asked nervously.

"I'm trying not to think about that," Ellie answered honestly. She slowly opened the door that lead into the main hallway on the first floor, wincing as it creaked loudly. When she heard no other noises, she made her way around the grand staircase and down a smaller, narrower hallway and into a door half the size of normal doors. "Where are we going?" Tonks asked, as she got impatient.

"What I'm looking for is in my father's bedroom, we're using the elf passages to get there. No self respecting jackass would be caught dead in here," Ellie said bitterly.

"By jackass you mean Death Eaters?"

"Death Eaters? Jackass? What's the difference?"

"But, Ellie, if a house elf sees us won't they have to tell your father?"

"There are seventy-eight house elves in this place. Seventy-four of them were a gift from my mom's father for their wedding. Those elves are loyal first and fore most to me, a direct descendant of their original master. As long as we don't run into those other four, we're fine."

"Right, all we have to do is avoid four specific house elves in a sea of elves," Tonks said, her voice rising an octave or so. Ellie rolled her eyes, brushing off Tonks's concerns. Truth be told, Ellie was enjoying this way more than she should have. It was the thrill, the adrenaline rush of sneaking right under her father's nose.

Ellie made her way through the winding hallways quickly, making Tonks have to jog to keep up. Finally she stopped in front of a wall that seemed perfectly normal. "What are-" Tonks's question was answered when Ellie pushed on a section of the wall panel, revealing the outline of a hidden door. It opened a crack without a sound, thankfully.

Ellie knelt and very carefully peered out into the next room. She held her breath as she looked to see if anyone was in there. She breathed a sigh of relief when she knew it was empty. "Come on." Ellie walked into the room carefully, still trying to be undetected. She walked over to her father's desk and opened the top drawer, which she emptied of all its contents before she pulled out the bottom to reveal a hidden compartment.

Ellie smiled at Tonks, indicating they had found what they were looking for. Ellie took the knapsack off her shoulders before she filled it with the compartment's contents. She led Tonks back to the elf passage after restoring the desk to its previous state of tidiness.

Instead of leading Tonks back out of the manor, like she had hoped, Ellie made her way farther down the hall to a plain door instead of one disguised. She opened the door less nervously, not being as cautious as before, but stopped dead in her tracks.

"Nit," Ellie squeaked. She stared wide-eyed at a house elf that was dusting bookcases in the bedroom they had entered. Tonks knew this was one of the four house elves they did _not _want to meet. _Just our luck,_ Tonks thought in exasperation. "W-what are you doing in here?"

"I is cleaning Mistress's room. Master does not wish for it to be filthy whether yous is living here or not. Master tells the elves you won't be back, why's is you back?"

"I'm just gathering a few of my things. Then I'll be leaving," Ellie said calmly, though her face was still pale and her hand that wasn't grasping her wand was gripping Tonks's wrist tightly.

"I is sorry Miss, but Nit is ordered to take you to the Master. He tells us elves you is not welcome." She went to snap her fingers, too either bring them to her father or tie them up they never found out.

"Petrificus totalus!" Tonks shouted. She stared at the elf laying on the floor. "Hermione's going to kill me." Nit was already fighting the curse. Ellie came to her senses quickly, grabbing a wooden box from her desk, and pulled Tonks into the main hallway. It seemed useless to sneak around when they had already been discovered. Ellie ran down the main staircase, Tonks in tow, and right into her father, Lucius Malfoy, and Yaxley.

Ellie stopped again, still gripping Tonks's wrist. Unlike when she ran into Nit, she was eerily calm. Before anyone could say anything, a loud pop announced Nit's arrival. She was going to speak to Macnair but when she saw Ellie, she simply walked back towards the elves quarters.

"Hello, Eleanor, so gracious of you to honor us with your presence," her father sneered, drawing his wand.

"Thanks, Wally, great to see you too," Ellie sneered right back, after all, she had learned from the best.

"Insolent girl, you're lucky to be alive," Yaxley roared.

"Excuse me, Yaxley, but would you be a dear and but the hell out of our family issues?" Ellie said. She didn't really understand why he was so angry. Had she hurt his feelings or something by offending her father?

He glared back at her and drew his wand quickly. "Sectumsempra!" he shouted. A small gash swept across her left cheek. Thought it hurt and was certainly deep, Yaxley was not very skilled at this particular curse. Had he correctly moved his wand, the gash would have been worse, possibly fatal.

Both Tonks and Ellie had their wands drawn and pointed at a Death Eater before the blink of an eye. Ellie stunned Malfoy while Tonks blasted Yaxley into a wall. It may have been a little dramatic, but she was pretty pissed. They both turned their wands on Ellie's father and smiled.

"So, Wally, feeling remorseful now? Or is the fear blocking it out?" Tonks growled. She was really hoping they could have gotten out of here unharmed. _George is going to kill us, not to mention Remus._

Walden kept his wand drawn, though he knew not to try anything. He was a jackass, but he wasn't stupid. "Tell me who he was," Ellie said. "And maybe we won't kill you."

"Very funny, Eleanor. You may hate me, but you don't have the nerve to kill me," he said confidently.

"That may be true, but we can still cause you an awful lot of pain," Ellie smiled sweetly at him. "Now, I asked you who he was. Who was he?" Walden stared at her for a moment, scrutinizing her in a way, but she didn't fidget. He raised his wand and a small, thin box zoomed into his outstretched hand. He tossed it to Ellie, who caught it in her free hand, never lowering her wand. "What is it?"

"It'll tell you what you want to know. Now get out and don't ever return."

"No problem there, Pops," Ellie laughed. She gave him a small smile, grateful to him, though she still hated his guts quite thoroughly. She turned her back on him and, putting Tonks in front of her, she lead the way through the front door. Glancing at the large glass door, she saw her father's reflection as he raised his wand at her back.

She turned on a dime and threw every curse she knew at his. "You bloody coward!" she shrieked. "You'll never change will you? Attacking someone while their back is turned? You're a pathetic excuse for a wizard and a human being!" When her rant was finished her father lay on the floor, injured, bloodied, and disfigured. He groaned in pain as he covered his face. Apparently, some of Ellie's curses and hexes didn't exactly mix. _Oh well._

Ellie turned her back on him as she and Tonks hurried to the property border. With one glance at the once beautiful mansion that had always felt cold and empty to her, she and Tonks apparated back to her flat in Diagon Alley. There an actual home was waiting for her, one that felt warm and safe. _Of course,_ she thought,_ so is an angry boyfriend. _

Ellie and Tonks crept up the stairs to her flat. "Come on, this feels so wrong, Ellie. You live here for Merlin's sake. I'm more frightened this time than when we broke into Death Eater Central," Tonks hissed. Ellie shushed her and they entered the flat with absolutely no noise. They stayed close to the walls as Ellie looked around the corner before grabbing Tonks's wrist and sprinting to the bathroom.

Slamming the door behind them, Ellie sat on the edge of the bathtub, taking a deep breath for the first time since they had left Hogsmeade earlier that evening. When her heartbeat was once again steady, Ellie glanced at her watch it was already past midnight. She hoped George had assumed she was staying with Tonks and had just decided to stay at his flat for the night. _Yeah right, he would have flooed or sent a patronus._

She got up and walked over to the sink. She examined her injury in the mirror, assessing the inflicted damage. The cut had stopped bleeding but it was sill bright red and the dried blood remained all over her cheek. "There is no way this is going to get past George," Ellied whined.

"Why are you so afraid of George?"

"I'm not scared of George, Tonks," Ellie laughed. The idea alone was ridiculous too her. "He worries too much. He'll freak out and probably try and kill Yaxley. What would Remus do if you walked into an Order meeting with dried blood all over your face?"

"He and I aren't dating, remember Ellie?"

"Like that changes anything," Ellie scoffed. She searched in the cabinet for something to put on her cut. She found a gross looking orange paste that would prevent infections and reduce scarring. After she cleaned it and the rest of her face, she put the paste on. Almost at once, the swelling went down and the only evidence that Ellie had been hurt was a pink line across her cheek.

"There, that's better!" Ellie said, relieved. "So you want to raid my fridge for some dinner?" Tonks nodded yes and they left the bathroom. Ellie pulled out some leftovers and heated them up with a wave of her wand. She pulled out two butterbeers and messily set the table.

"This isn't half bad," Tonks said in surprise. They both laughed and talked as they finished their dinner. At about one in the morning, they froze as the door opened.

"I don't know where they could be, Remus," George's voice said. He sounded slightly panicked.

"We've checked just about everywhere; the Burrow, your flat, Dora's flat, her parents' home, not to mention every shop in Hogsmeade," Remus replied in exasperation. "If I wasn't so worried, I'd be really angry."

"Yeah," George agreed half-heartedly. "You want a drink?" George asked. Before either of them could run and hide, in the least cowardly possible of course, George and Remus came through the kitchen door. Both of their jaws dropped as they stared at Tonks and Ellie, happily drinking their butterbeers.

"Hullo, George, did you have a nice day?" Ellie asked, her voice unusually high.

"Where the bloody hell have-" George had started to ask, clearly angry. But he stopped when he was Ellie's cheek. He ran over to her and gently turned her head. "What did you do?" he groaned.

"W-well, it's sort of a, um, it's sort of a secret," Ellie answered though it sounded more like a question.

"Who hurt you? 'Cus you don't have to worry, I'll kill 'em," George said.

Ellie sighed, "That's sort of a contradiction. If you ran off to kill someone, I think I'd be inclined to worry."

"So you're not going to tell me where you were or how you got hurt?" George asked.

"Well, Remus, I think we'd better be going. Best to leave these love birds alone," Tonks said hurriedly.

"But is it safe to leave you two love birds alone?" Ellie asked with feigned curiosity. They both turned red and said things such as, "That's quite inappropriate, Ellie," or "Don't be absurd!" and even a "That's really none of your business is it?" from Tonks.

When they were slightly less flustered, they made a swift exit, of course not before Remus promised to speak to her on a later date. He had used his professor voice when he told her.

Ellie lead George into her room and they both lay in her bed. She rested her forehead against George's and whispered, "I'm not a coward anymore. He doesn't scare me." And suddenly George knew exactly where she had been. He didn't know why but he could guess. He was going to talk to her about it but she was already fast asleep. He laughed lightly before he too succumbed to sleep.

The next morning Ellie and George both got up and trudged to their respected shops. Before he left, Ellie promised George that she would explain why she went back to her house.

Ellie's shop was busier each day as the holidays got closer. She was actually constantly on her feet for the first time since her opening day. Lee and Alicia both stopped by to say hello. "Lee!" Ellie screamed when he opened the door. She went to jump on his back but a quick shield charm and Ellie bounced back and landed on the floor. "What was that for?" Ellie asked with a pout.

"Self defense, Ellie," Lee said with a grin.

Alicia frowned at him, "That wasn't very nice." When he saw that Alicia did not approve, Lee immediately tried to make it better by helping Ellie up. Ellie, however, got an evil glint in her eye as she pulled Lee down on the floor as well. Then she sat on him

"I believe this is where I should say, I win," Ellie laughed and Alicia joined in. Ellie sat on the counter and Alicia jumped up next to her. "What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing much, and I mean that literally," Lee answered sourly. "We can't do much now a days."

"Yeah, we're going to spend a few weeks and Christmas with my parents. The war gloom isn't quite as daunting," Alicia told her. Ellie smiled at them. "Why are you so happy?"

"A Couple's holiday, sounds serious," Ellie snickered.

"You're spending the holiday with the Weasleys, aren't you?" Lee asked.

"I'm not spending two weeks there though," Ellie reminded them.

"Yeah, 'cus you have dinner there once a week," Alicia laughed. Ellie shrugged, not completely admitting defeat, but letting it drop nonetheless. Alicia and Lee hung around for about an hour before heading over to the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to say goodbye to the twins.

The rest of her day went by without incident and Ellie locked up with a sigh of relief. She had been half expecting Death Eaters to come barreling through her door. She made her way upstairs, turning off the lights as she did.

Ellie made her way to her room where she changed into comfier clothes before grabbing her knapsack full of everything from last night. George would be over soon so she quickly separated out the few things she wouldn't share with him. Then she picked up the remaining bulk and waited for him in the living room.

**A/N: It's been ages! A month I think? I'm really a horrible updater. I know. But here you go! And the next chapter will be pretty important /slash/ hopefully answer some questions! Enjoy and Review If You Do, Plox?**


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